On the Path of Destruction
by lexi-charmed
Summary: Dean has three months until he goes to Hell, and Sam is adamant on saving him. There may be one last hope: The Charmed Ones and their children. Piper Halliwell may be dead, but Dean's old childhood friend Wyatt Halliwell will do anything to save him. While there, Dean realizes that Mel Halliwell is on a destructive path, and is determined to help her before going to Hell.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. It has been ages since I've written anything here. I've been playing around with a few crossover ideas, and nothing has really stuck. I was trying to get away from the Charmed/Supernatural crossovers, but it seems that this is still the one where my heart lays. So, I'm revisiting an idea that I started working on years ago, and making a few changes.**

**I hope you like it, and would really appreciate it if you'd review. The rating is there for the strong language at first, but is extremely necessary by chapter six. I've just finished writing that, so you have an idea of how far ahead I am on the story to make sure I post regularly.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Charmed or Supernatural.**

Chapter 1

"I think we should give it a go, Dean," Sam argued back, finding it incredible that his brother wasn't going to go for it. Did his brother not want to live? "They might be able to help."

"They won't," Dean shrugged his shoulders, "And I don't want to go back there."

Dean was fed up of arguing with his brother. He had just three months left until he was going to Hell. He wanted to spend it with his brother, having fun and saving as many people as he could before he started doing the opposite. He needed to do all of that. Why did Sam insist on saving him?

He took a deep pull of his bottle of beer, trying to drone Sam out. Dean did have to admit that this was probably one of Sam's brightest ideas. He kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. If he'd have thought about it at the start of his year, then he would have gone straight to San Francisco to see that magical family. But with three months...no they needed more time to help him.

"The Halliwells can help, Dean," Sam pleaded with his brother now, "Can we not just give it a go? Dad said he worked really well with The Charmed Ones in the past."

"The Charmed Ones don't exist anymore, Sammy," Dean sighed. He remembered the phone call well. While he and Wyatt Halliwell barely kept in touch, they updated each other about the important stuff. Well, Wyatt updated Dean on the important stuff. Wyatt had called the night that Piper Halliwell had been killed. It was right in front of the poor guy and his little brother, Chris. Dean's heart broke. Piper was like a mother to him when he was in San Francisco with his dad. He was only 10, but it still felt like somewhere he belonged, without ever being forced. At the time, he wanted so badly to stay there and nearly did. Leo had offered him and Sammy the chance to stay with them, but John wanted his boys on the road. If only Dad had said yes to Leo's offer.

Dean shook himself from the thoughts. He still hadn't told Wyatt about this. He wasn't sure how to. You couldn't just ring a guy up with a 'hey, I haven't called much lately. Just to let you know my dad died 18 months or so ago, and then Sammy six months ago but I sold my soul to get Sammy back. I'm gonna be dead in three months. I'm going to Hell.' Yeah, that wasn't going to cut it. Wyatt would go berserk. And that was why he didn't want to go back to San Francisco.

"Well, I'm gonna go," Sam sighed, finally, "I don't care what you say, Dean. I'm done with sitting around trying to find a way to save you."

Sam closed John's journal and started packing his things. Dean closed his eyes, polishing off his beer. He couldn't let Sam go to San Francisco alone. If anyone was going to tell the Halliwells about this, he had to be the one. He would be the one.

"Fine," Dean growled, making his frustration and annoyance of being backed into a corner clear, "But we don't stay long, you hear me? We tell them and give them a week." He knew they'd need more than a week. But something deep inside of him made him hopeful. Even if they didn't find something within the week, Wyatt would keep checking for him until it really was too late. Dean wouldn't be too surprised if Wyatt continued checking even then to find a way to save him from Hell.

The drive wasn't too long. They were only a state away, so it made a change for once. Sam had called Bobby on the way, and Dean could hear a relieved sigh. Dean knew that Bobby had thought about The Charmed Ones in the past, but had an idea that the death of Piper had stopped him from bringing it up.

"Bobby wishes us luck," Sam had said and then smiled sadly, "And called you and idjit."

Dean smirked. That was Bobby, alright. And maybe this time he was an idjit.

By the time they got to San Francisco, though, it was late. They made their way straight to the Halliwell Manor, as it had always been known; hoping that someone was still awake. Dean wasn't sure who even lived there anymore. It was Piper and Leo alone at the time of her death. Dean wondered whether one of the kids had moved back in. He was sure Melinda, the youngest of the three, was still single. Maybe she'd moved back in to save some money.

"Well, the lights are on." Sam said, making it clear that he was worried about the same thing. Someone was home and awake.

As they made their way up the steps of 1329 Prescott Street, they realized that there was no need to worry about lights. They could hear through the door that people were awake. There was a lot of shouting happening in the house. Before Dean even had a chance to knock on the door, it swung open.

Dean stepped back, shocked, when he saw an average-sized, brunette woman standing on the other side of the door. She frowned at him with a disgusted snort, before walking past him. The bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand hit his leg, making him look down at it with a frown.

"Melinda, you even think about getting in that car and I swear to God that I will..."

"Call the police?" the girl called back, without even looking, "Yeah, got it! Looks like you'll have to turn your own sister in."

The girl got into a little Volkswagon Golf, making Dean chuckle. Women and their cars. His chuckling soon stopped as he watched her take a long swig of the bottle of Jack, before starting the engine and driving off at full speed. He raised his eyebrows, at Sam. Sammy was just looking on in shock. Dean now turned his attention to the door, where a brunette man, about his own height, was standing. The man's eyes were closed, and head on the door frame.

"Melinda!"

Dean then realized. That was Wyatt's little sister getting into the car. And this man here was Chris. Dean cleared his throat, making Chris jump back.

"Erm, hi!"

"Shit! I didn't realize anyone was here," Chris spoke, putting a hand over his heart. Chris then stopped talking and took a double take, "Dean? Dean Winchester?"

"The one and only," Dean grinned, thanking whoever may be up there—if there was even anyone up there—that they remembered him, "Nice to see you again, Chris."

"C'mon in," Chris stepped to one side and then looked at Sam, "And you must be Sammy."

"Erm, Sam," Sam smiled. He hardly remembered much of the Halliwells. He was six at the time, and some of his memories were still a little hazy. It was just a lot of moving around and motel rooms, "Do you want someone to go after her?"

Dean shook his head. Trust Sam to try and play knight in shining armour.

"No, I'll get someone on the way." Chris sighed as the Winchesters walked into the house. Chris closed the door and then pulled out his phone.

"You're really phoning the cops?" Dean raised an eyebrow at Chris, just as a blonde-haired, gorgeous woman stepped into the hallway.

Chris put one finger up and walked towards the kitchen. Dean made out that Chris was talking to Henry someone.

"He'll be phoning his uncle," the woman explained, and Dean instantly realized that she meant the parole officer uncle. Of course, that made sense, "Hi, Chris didn't introduce me. I'm Dana, his fiancée."

Dean mentally high-fived Chris for getting such a girl and took her hand, introducing himself and Sam.

"Is Leo around?"

"Ah, so you know them," Dana smiled and nodded her head, "Leo's will be closing up the garage for the night, I think. Probably discussing things with Riley about Mel."

Riley? Garage? Dean frowned and shook his head, having to explain to Dana that it had been a long time since he'd been in San Francisco.

"Our dad was friends with Piper Halliwell." Sam tried to help his brother out, and then saw a look of sadness cross Dana's face. Dean hadn't said much about The Charmed Ones or the death of Piper on the way, just that she was dead. It was clear that it was fairly recent, and they were all still dealing with it.

"Henry's going to look out for her," Chris said, kissing Dana on the cheek. He then turned back to the Winchester brothers, "I'm sorry about that. Mel's not dealing with Mom's death that well."

"I guessed." Dean nodded, partially knowing how she was feeling. He still felt anger towards his dad for selling his soul for him. It was part of the reason he decided to sell his soul for Sammy. Not only would it save his little brother, but it would be two fingers up at the man who stopped him from giving into death just over 21 months ago.

"Beer?" Chris offered, motioning back towards the kitchen.

"Like you read my mind." Dean grinned.

"None for me," Sam smiled, realizing that he was likely going to be the one to drive to a motel, "Got any coffee?"

"Always," Dana laughed and then stopped to look up, "I'm sorry, Chris."

"It's okay," Chris smiled and then looked to the Winchesters, "They know. You go check on your charge." Dean just watched as Dana kissed Chris and then disappeared in white and blue lights. Chris shook his head, mumbling about hating when she did that and then walked into the kitchen.

"What the hell?" Sam had a look of shock on his face. It was nothing like he'd ever seen.

"Welcome to the world of The Charmed Ones." He grinned and pulled his brother towards the kitchen, seeing Chris pull three beers from the fridge and taking the tops off them. Sam was about to object when blue and white lights filled the kitchen again. When they disappeared, Wyatt was there with a big grin.

"Dean!"

"Hey Wyatt!"

Dean and Wyatt embraced in a hug. They may not have seen each other for 18 years, but it felt like it had only been months. They had an unspeakable connection, as if they were brothers. It's amazing what happened when you both ended up captured by a demon when you were kids.

"Can someone please tell me what that all was?" Sam now asked. John's journal didn't say anything about blue and white lights.

"He doesn't remember?" Wyatt asked and then waved at Sam, "Hey, Sammy. You were just...what...five when I last saw you?"

"Six." Dean pointed out. Wyatt chuckled and nodded his head at Dean. There was a private joke between the two of them. Dean and Wyatt both took their beers from Chris. Dean enjoyed the taste of the cold liquid running down his throat, but would have loved some of that Jack that Melinda had. Worry for her crept into his mind. Just how much had she had of that before she started driving.

"You left a few things out in our conversations, Wy," Dean said, and then mentally kicked himself because he'd left a lot out, "Didn't know Chris was dating a whitelighter."

Chris hung his head low, taking a mouthful of beer.

"Engaged," Wyatt pointed out and then ruffled his brother's hair, "My little brother is getting married."

Chris got out of his brother's grasp, rolling his green eyes. He then turned and poured Sam a mug of coffee, passing it to the taller Winchester, "Big brothers, huh?"

"Huh." Sam took the coffee but continued with more questions than answered. He remembered a mention about whitelighters, but didn't know too much. It was a subject that John seemed to gloss over. He'd find out from Dean later.

"By the way, you need to talk to our little sister," Chris then looked at his big brother, "She's at it again."

"Oh, not again," Wyatt groaned and slammed the beer bottle on the counter with enough pressure to make the beer fizz and pour all over the place. Chris quickly put his hand out. The alcohol collected and went back into the bottle, like it was nothing, "I'm gonna kill that girl if the drink doesn't first."

"Melinda?" Dean asked, and sighed when Wyatt and Chris nodded, "I saw her on the way out."

"Did you see the Jack?" Chris asked, and groaned when Dean nodded his head, "She's struggling to deal with Mom's death."

"We all are," Wyatt admitted, "But Mel worse. She's just not opening up."

"Sounds like someone I know," Sam said forcefully, looking at Dean, "You didn't deal well with Dad's death."

Dean closed his eyes, remembering how he handled it at first. He didn't talk to Sammy, and then after rebuilding his baby, he smashed her to pieces with a crowbar again. She was rebuilt again, but it annoyed him even more that the smashing to bits still didn't really help. He still knew the place that Melinda seemed to be in.

"Your dad's dead?" Wyatt frowned, "When? You never called."

"You never called when you got that ring on your finger." Dean now pointed out, glancing at the gold band around his friend's wedding finger. Wyatt instinctively twisted it and shrugged.

"It was about a year ago," Wyatt admitted, "She's called Bianca. I think you'd like her."

"Apart from the part demon in her." Chris pointed out.

"Part demon?" Sam furrowed his brow.

"Her dad was a demon," Wyatt sighed, "Her mom was a Phoenix witch. She's a nurse and works on our side." Wyatt always felt the need to explain that when someone realized that Bianca had demonic powers and a very questionable history.

"Dad died 21 months ago," Dean sighed, "Yellow-Eyes got him."

"Oh!" Wyatt raised his eyebrows. Dean saw the shock turn to compassion, sorrow and hate in both the Halliwell boys' eyes.

"I'm sorry," Chris now said, polishing his beer off and putting the empty bottle on the counter, "That what you here for?"

"No, Dean killed him nine months ago," Sam pointed out, "But something else happened then."

"I don't think now's the time, Sammy." Dean said, but realized that his brother wasn't going to give him a chance to back out of this. Dean felt guilty for never telling Wyatt about his dad's death. This was way worse than that.

"Dean's going to Hell in three months," Sam said, continuing even when Wyatt and Chris raised their eyebrows in shock and fear, "And I'm running out of ideas of how to stop it."


	2. Chapter 2

**I really hope you're enjoying this story. I'm having so much fun writing it and fleshing out the characters. Right now, it's taken a slightly different path than I originally anticipated, but that's all the fun of writing. I love to see where the characters want me to take them.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in Supernatural or Charmed. I just love telling stories with the characters.**

Chapter 2

Melinda stumbled up the stairs to her apartment, barely walking in a straight line. She took another swig from the bottle of Jack in her hand, only to realize that it was all gone. When the hell did she finish the last drop? Sighing she turned back on the stairs, almost losing her balance. The alcohol may have made her senses dim but not enough. The pain, the anger, the emptiness. It was all still there. She started walking back down the stairs.

"Take one more step, young lady, and I will take you in."

Melinda stopped on the stairs and sighed. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. Her brother had done it.

"What do you want, Uncle Henry?"

"I want those car keys first," Henry pointed out, "That car doesn't even belong to you. It's Pru's."

"She let me borrow it." Mel shrugged her shoulders, turning back on the stairs and looking into her uncle's dark eyes. There was sorrow and pain in his eyes, but she continued to look back with hatred and anger. She hated the world, and the world clearly hated her.

"Not to polish off a bottle of Jack while driving," Henry pointed out, "And definitely not to get more."

"You can't read my mind, Henry," Melinda started walking back down the stairs of the apartment building, feeling Henry close on her heels, "You're mortal, if you don't remember."

"But I know this destructive path, Mel. I've seen plenty of my parolees on it."

"I'm not one of them," Mel pointed out, "I can handle my drink."

"Really?" Henry laughed as the two reached the bottom of the stairwell. Melinda threw the empty bottle of Jack in the trashcan just at the bottom, before walking out of the building. Henry followed her every step, "It was only four months ago that you crashed your own car because of the alcohol."

Melinda shook her head and turned back to face her uncle, "You don't know anything. For all you know, there was a demon in the road."

"The only demons in your life are your personal ones right now, Mel," Henry sighed, knowing that she was going to drive the car again. Before she could, he grabbed her. She screamed at him to let her go, but all he wanted was to grab the car keys, "I'm not letting you do it, Mel. I don't want to have to turn you in."

"You know what! Fine!" Melinda scream, throwing the car keys at him and then storming off, "I'll walk!"

Henry could just watch, as his niece walked away from him. He knew she was hurting, but she couldn't keep going down this destructive path. She was going to kill herself, and possibly someone else.

Melinda went the one place she'd be able to get into without any question. To her mother's club—no, her club. It was her club now. It was only a few blocks away from her apartment. That was always one reason she chose the apartment. It was close to her work.

She high-fived Steve, the bouncer, as she walked into the club and down the stairs. It was packed tonight. A typical Wednesday night. It was student night in San Francisco, and they just loved coming to P3. There was always a live band on the stage, and cheap drinks. Mel had come up with the idea of having a student night when she was at college. She convinced her mother to offer a range of both non-alcoholic and alcoholic cocktails on special for the night. They were what students wanted to drink.

It turned into the best business plan for her mother. Eventually, more drinks were put on offer, along with free door entry. There was no need to have that with the profit that everything else was making.

Melinda walked straight up to the bar and dipped underneath the wooden bar that stopped customers entering.

"Hey, Mel!" Pru's voice called out over the music, surprised to see her cousin here.

Mel didn't answer and simply grabbed a full bottle of Jack from under the counter. Pru sighed, realizing what her cousin was doing.

"You're going to destroy your liver with that."

Mel heard Pru, and just shrugged her shoulders. With that, Mel took the bottle to the backroom and locked the door. She would drink this in peace.

"There's no way out of this deal," Dean pointed out, sitting at the kitchen table with another beer in his hand, "I've already told Sammy. I try to weasel out of this, and Sammy ends up dead instead."

"At least I won't be in Hell, Dean," Sam pointed out, "Think about all the pain, the torture."

"Yeah, it's not great," Chris shook his head, "I should know."

"You've been to Hell?" Dean frowned, looking between Wyatt and Chris, realizing there was a lot that his friend hadn't told him. It looked like they were both keeping a few family secrets.

"It's a long long long long story," Chris chuckled, "But you really don't want to go there if you can help it."

"And there will be a way out of it," Wyatt ignored his brother's remarks, "There's always a loophole in a contract. The trick is to finding it."

"Or you get the person to hold the contract to break it," Chris pointed out, "Isn't that how Aunt Paige said she got out of going to Hell?"

Wyatt nodded his head and drank some of his beer. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of Wyatt's cellphone.

"Sorry, I forgot to call Bianca to say that I would be a little longer than expected," Wyatt sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. But it wasn't Bianca calling. It was someone at the club, "It's P3."

"Why would P3 call you?" Chris frowned, "That's Mel's club..." Chris closed his eyes and shook his head, with a mumble that sounded like 'what has she done now.'

Dean just sat back as Wyatt had a conversation on the phone. It was difficult to hear on the other side because of the loud music, but Wyatt quickly got the gist of the conversation. His frustrated frown turned to anger as he quickly hung up and grabbed his jacket.

"Go on."

"She's fucking grabbed a bottle of Jack from the club and locked herself in the backroom," Wyatt shouted, "She's fucking gonna kill herself at this rate. I can't do anything else." Wyatt orbed out before Chris could say anything in return. The younger Halliwell brother turned back to the Winchesters with an apologetic look.

"It looks like you've got way too much on your cards, right now," Dean polished his beer off and stood up, "We'll leave you and figure all this out ourselves."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Chris now asked, looking between the brothers with raised eyebrows, "There's two spare rooms upstairs. You can sleep in them and we'll figure this out for you. Mel will...well, I'm not sure what we're going to do with Mel right now. Maybe you two can help with that."

"No..."

"Thanks, man!"

Dean and Sam spoke simultaneously. Chris smirked and shook his head.

"I'll help you grab your stuff and show you to your rooms," Chris walked them out of the kitchen, "My dad will be home soon, I'm sure. He'll love to see you."

And with that Dean realized he was trapped. Not only was he going to have people try get him out of his deal, but he was going to be trapped in some serious family drama. On the bright side, it looked like there was someone in the family who liked Jack just as much—if not more—than he did.

**Please do leave a review to let me know what you think! I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, not that many are reading this at the moment. That's ok. I write because I feel the need to, so I am going to keep posting this. If you do read it and enjoy it, please do let me know.**

**I've actually got this story complete now and I'm working on a sequel to it. The inspiration has really hit, and I've become invested in some of the characters. There are a few snippets from Supernatural episodes thrown in, but I've tried to make it unique. The next story will be relatively unique for various reasons, but you'll find out more as this story develops.**

**So, here's the third chapter. I hope you enjoy it!  
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Chapter 3

It was the best night sleep he'd ever had. Dean woke up feeling refreshed and strangely hopeful. He knew it had something to do with being back in the house that resembled some sort of home in his childhood. He'd only spent a few days here after the demon attack, but Piper and Leo were so warm and inviting. In fact, the whole family was warm and inviting.

As he opened his eyes, he looked around the bedroom. It was larger than he remembered last night. That may have been due to the slight numbness of the alcohol. After Wyatt had gotten in with Melinda, he and Dean had taken some beers to the garden and drank them. They got caught up on most of the things that happened. Dean had missed a few details out, and he was sure Wyatt had too.

Getting up to stretch, he looked around at some of the photos on the wall. He realized that he was in Melinda's room. She was only four when he was last here. Smiling, he remember the way she would follow her big brothers around, and the way they protected her. It reminded him of the way he would always protect Sammy.

"_Wyatt, let me twy, pwease!" the four-year-old Melinda pleaded. She followed Wyatt and Dean into the living room of the Manor as quickly as she could, but the boys were so much faster. Wyatt was clearly annoyed at his little sister constantly getting in the way, but Dean already had a soft spot for her. Her big green eyes quickly had him wrapped around her little finger._

"_Let her try, Wyatt," Dean laughed, "As soon as she dies, you get it back." They were discussing the video game that Wyatt had in his hand. The two boys were playing it together. It was one of the first times Wyatt got to be just a normal kid, while his dad and Wyatt's mom and aunts finished off with the demon that had taken them just days earlier. He was loving every minute of it._

_Wyatt sighed with 'fine' and handed the game console to the little girl. Dean helped her with the buttons to press and within seconds she was dead. She sighed and handed it back to Wyatt._

"_It's a stupid boy game anyway." Dean winked at the toddler, who clearly did not like to lose. She grinned at the wink and ran off with a giggle. Dean just watched, secretly wishing he had a little sister, too. He wouldn't get annoyed at her like Wyatt did._

Dean continued glancing at the numerous photos that Melinda had clearly decided to leave when she moved out. There were some of her and her family together, and some of friends. In many of them, she was dressed up and looking gorgeous. He couldn't believe the woman that three-year-old had become. It felt almost wrong to find her hot. She was like a little sister to him, but then he reminded himself that for her he was just some random guy turning up at the door when she was half cut.

Pulling his clothes on, Dean made his way down to the kitchen. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he glanced over at the couch in one of the living rooms.

There she was, laying with one arm above her head and the other over her chest. She was clearly in some sort of restless state, a frown over her soft features. That frown made her look mean, but deep down Dean knew that she was hurting. He wanted to help make that pain go away.

It was then that he decided he would help her, while her brothers helped him. It was the least he could do.

Before that, though, he needed coffee.

"And the dead rises," Sam grinned, looking up from the newspaper, and then chuckled at Dean's confused grin, "You've slept most of the morning away. I've never known you sleep so long."

"I guess I needed it." Dean shrugged his shoulders, but both he and Sam knew that he felt safe enough to sleep so long. Nothing was said, though, and Dean went straight to pour some coffee.

"Dean!" Leo's voice called out from the door to the back.

Wondering what his second—maybe third, if he counted bobby—father wanted already, Dean made his way out the back and to the garage. He saw that his baby was parked in the garage and up on blocks. Panic went through him, until he saw Leo's smiling face.

"I thought I'd give her an oil change while she was here," Leo explained, "When was the last time you did it?"

Dean couldn't even tell him. With everything else going on, he just couldn't say. Once relief spread through him, he then look a look at another car in the garage. This one was a lot worse for wear. It didn't even have any doors on. Dean couldn't help but think back to when the Impala was a wreck after the car crash that nearly killed him. No wait, it did kill him. His dad just did a switch for him.

Dean gritted his teeth as he thought back to that again. He wanted to give his dad a piece of his mind, and would have done when he escaped from Hell just after the killing of Yellow-Eyes. But at the time he was just so happy to see his dad out and floating away somewhere; somewhere to be with Mary.

"Are you okay, son?" Leo asked, a look of worry flashing in the old man's green eyes. They'd lost some of the spark that he remembered, but that was what losing your wife did you to, he realized. His dad's eyes had lost their spark too after his mom's death, "I'm sorry. I just thought..."

"No, erm, thanks, Leo," Dean nodded with a grateful nod, "I was just thinking back to something, that's all. Whose car is that, then? It looks like it's seen better days."

"It has," Leo sighed, glancing at what Dean thought looked like a Mustang, "That's Mel's car."

"Ah," Dean nodded, realizing why it looked so bad, "Wyatt and Chris said she was in an accident."

"Did they say how?"

Dean just nodded to the question. He had no idea what Leo was going through, but he could take some sort of guess. Losing your wife and then almost losing your daughter because of her own downward spiral would cause Dean to lose his mind. He wondered how Leo was still standing.

"She'll be in here later to work on it," Leo sighed, "Well, I think she will. I've been helping her, hoping to get through to her."

"Mind if I try?" Dean asked. Off Leo's confused frown, Dean elaborated, "After my dad died I was in an awful place. I think I get some of her demons, and I rebuilt my baby twice back from scratch, so could at least try to help. We have common ground. Plus, Wyatt and Chris are trying to help me, so it's the least I could do."

"I'd appreciate it, Dean," Leo smiled again, and then walked him out of the garage and back to the house, "But I'm not sure how open she'll be to talk to you."

"I have my charm." Dean grinned as they walked back into the kitchen. He didn't miss Sam's scoff at that remark, and threw him a dangerous glare. Sam wanted him here; he was going to have to deal with his true personality around everyone.

Dean finally grabbed the cup of coffee that he was desperately needing first thing, just as Dana orbed into the kitchen. She said some quick hellos before grabbing food out of the fridge.

"Is Chris at work, Leo? I haven't sensed for him yet." Dana asked, munching on an apple.

"I guess so," Leo nodded, "He said he had some paperwork to do. Bianca is in the attic with Wyatt, though."

"Ooo!" Dana smiled and then ran out of the room. Dean and Sam just watched the girl go and then turn back to Leo. They never did find out about her, or how Chris met. They'd forgotten all about her after Dean explained his whole Hell deal, and Wyatt had never brought her up while they were drinking beers in the back.

"So, Dana, right?"

"Yeah, that's Dana," Leo nodded, "She's a whitelighter if you couldn't guess..." Then Leo turned to Sam, "Do you remember whitelighters at all, Sam?"

"I don't remember much at all, sir." Sam answered with an apologetic look.

"Please, it's Leo. Always has been." Leo said, making Dean chuckle.

He remembered Wyatt when they were kids. They were never to call Leo sir. He was a soldier in the Second World War, and never wanted to be called sir. He was NOT officer material. Now his dad on the other hand...

"Well, Dana was Hannah's charge. She's one of Paige's twins."

"Paige had twins?"

"Yeah. Hannah is full whitelighter and Harper is full witch. She also has Hen..."

"Yeah, I remember Jnr. He's what, three years younger than me?"

"He's 25. Got two of his own, you know!" Dean's eyebrows raised. That one was not something he expected. Finding out that Wyatt had a kid on the way was expected, and he was happy for his friend. Finding out that Chris was engaged, and even that Wyatt and Chris' cousin Pru was in a very serious relationship didn't rock him that much. But finding out Hen had kids just didn't seem to sit right. He knew there was more of a story there, but he'd had to wait.

"Anyway, Dana was Hannah's charge and she met Chris. They're soulmates. Literally soulmates," Leo explained, "She knew Chris' soul when she was alive in 1712."

"1712!" Sam shouted out. He wasn't too sure about this family anymore. Witches he could deal with, and he could tell they were good witches. His dad obviously trusted them, and so did Dean. But the idea of whitelighters and people living since 1712 was too much, "She's over 300 years old?"

Dean started laughing at his brother's remark. Sam threw Dean a questionable and hurt look, leading to Leo to explain exactly what whitelighters are, and that he was one.

"You died and came back as an angel?"

"Sort of. Whitelighters are sort of guardian angels for witches and potential whitelighters. We're not supposed to date our charges but..."

"You dated Piper." Dean nodded his head. Leo was a sly dog, and Dean was impressed. He knew it wasn't without heartbreak, but it gave Dean hope that anyone could find love. Maybe even he...no, he needed to get out of this deal first. He couldn't think of a future until Hell wasn't in it.

"Dad?" a hoarse voice called out from the kitchen door. The door swung open, and a blurry-eyed Melinda stepped through. She held her hand up to the light, clearly suffering from the effects of last night.

"Hey, sweetheart," Leo sighed, a mixture of disappointment and sadness in his voice. Dean didn't miss the heartbreak there, but quickly saw Melinda put a mask on, "How are you feeling?"

"Peachy." Mel lied, and quickly grabbed a mug from the cupboard and filled it with hot coffee. She drained the first cup with a sigh and then filled it again. After downing the cup again, the young brunette cracked her neck and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Dean couldn't help but feel like he was looking into a mirror at times. Was this really the way he looked 21 months ago?

He then simply watched in awe as she put the coffee mug down, opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer.

"Melinda?" Leo said, a warning tone in her voice.

"Leo?" She looked back at him, coldness in her green eyes. Dean and Sam shared a look that said they shouldn't be in the room right now, but neither of them really wanted to leave. It was like they needed to watch this episode of Halliwell Drama. Dean just wanted to know how deep the pain went, since he'd already made a commitment to Leo to try help her, even if it was the last thing he did.

When Leo didn't say anything, Mel took the bottle top off with her teeth and then gulped the liquid twice. After that, it was straight out the back door.

"Where are you going?"

"Does it matter?"

Leo sighed, defeated. Dean could tell that the three men in the family had tried everything. They were now simply going through the motions of trying not to lose Mel, but it wasn't easy.

"I don't know what to do anymore."

Dean's heart broke more. This poor man looked like he was about to crumble. It was then that Dean made another vow. He was going to put this family back together before he went to Hell. He didn't know how, but he would do it. To start with, he needed to help Melinda. Tapping Leo on the arm, Dean filled up his coffee cup—with coffee, not beer—and walked out to the garage. He didn't look, but he knew there was a thankful look on Leo's face.

"Did you say Wyatt was in the attic?" Sam asked, realizing now that it was too awkward to sit around. And he was here to help his brother, after all.

"Yeah," Leo seemed thankful for the change of conversation, "Let me show you where it is, bud."

**So, what did you think? Please do leave a review and let me know. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad to know that people are enjoying this.**

**So, I'm going to be away for a week from Monday. I'm going to get this chapter up now and the next chapter up later. I want to get chapter 6 up too, but that will depend on time constraints at my end. The chapters are written, but I have lots to do before I go away.**

**I'm half way through a sequel to this story, too, so I can't wait to share that with you. But for now, here's chapter four.**

Chapter 4

Melinda took a swig from the bottle and placed it on the workbench, while she frowned at the second car in the garage. No, it wasn't a frown. She admired the car in the garage. It was gorgeous, and she'd love to get behind the wheel of it.

It must have belonged to the guys who were in her—her dad's—kitchen. It wasn't hers anymore. She'd moved out four years ago. It was too much living under the roof with her...the mothership. Piper and Melinda never got along. Everyone kept saying that they were too much alike, but Melinda didn't want to believe it. She just couldn't understand why Piper constantly picked at everything that she did.

"_Why are you doing it like that?" Melinda sighed as she heard Piper's screeching voice, yet again. She just couldn't do anything right, could she?_

"_What do you mean, now?"_

"_I put the recipe in the book," Piper didn't answer her daughter's question really, "Follow it."_

"_I am following it," Melinda glared at her mother, picking up the knife again. She went back to cutting, but Piper grabbed her hands, "Mom!"_

"_Like this!" Piper tried to show her, but a 16-year-old Melinda had had enough. She just slammed the knife down and walked around the kitchen._

"_Just do it yourself then!" Mel waved her hands and walked out of the kitchen._

"_Melinda, get back here. I'll show you."_

"_I was doing it fine until you walked in."_

"_You weren't following the recipe."_

_She was, but it just wasn't the way that Piper did it. If it wasn't the way that Piper did it, then it wasn't good enough. Melinda realized that from a young age. The Mommy's Boy in the house did everything perfectly. He chopped the veggies exactly as Piper showed him, and followed a recipe step-by-step. Melinda wanted to experiment. She wanted to try different things, and add her own style. But no, she just wasn't allowed. And now she gave up._

Melinda shook her head, thinking back to that moment. That was the first time she honestly thought about moving out of the house. She'd turned to Wyatt and asked if she could crash at his place. She could, but only for a couple of nights. He wasn't going to let her move in with him. He was way too involved with some girl at that time. She had to return home.

Piper's attitude was why she loved working with her dad. Leo would let her work on the cars her way, and would simply tell her what needed doing. If she was struggling, he would ask if he wanted to show her his way to get an idea but would then leave her be. That's what she wanted from Piper, but...

Mel sighed and looked back at her car. Picking up a wrench, she was about to stick her head into the engine. That was until she heard the door close.

She instinctively put her hands up, ready to attack. Once she saw it was one of the guys from the kitchen, she rolled her eyes. Leo wouldn't have been talking to him the way he was if he was here to hurt her.

"What do you want?" Melinda asked, going back to her car.

"I was going to offer you a hand with the car, Mel." The man said. Hearing him say her name—and her nickname at that—made her pop her head back up with narrowed eyes.

"How do you..."

"You don't remember me, do you?" the man asked, and smiled when she shook her head, "It's Dean. Dean Win..."

"Winchester?" Mel questioned and then looked Dean up and down with an approving glare, "You look good, man. Guessing your dad's got you running around after those demons after all."

"He died 21 months ago." He sounded like a broken record. How many times has he said that now? Did this family seriously not talk? He chuckled to himself as he thought about his own family, and lack of talking.

Melinda initially had a look of sympathy—maybe even empathy—on her face, but it quickly changed to a cynical roll of the eyes.

"Leo got you to come out here and talk to me, didn't he?" she sighed, grabbed her beer and taking a swig. Dean just watched her, as he took a sip of his own coffee, "That man. All of them. When will they not get it that I don't need babying?"

"The look of your car says something else," Dean pointed out and then put his coffee on the workbench. He walked around the car, imagining it when it was in one piece, "It looks worse than mine did after my crash."

"You crashed your car?" Melinda said, and looked over at the Impala just after Dean, "That's your car? She looks perfect to me. Wouldn't mind giving it a test drive."

"Not with the alcohol in your system, you're not," Dean shook his head, "Get sober and I'll think about it."

Dean flashed him his cheeky grin, trying to make her laugh. Instead she just rolled her eyes, and took another swig of her beer. If a hint of possibly driving his baby wasn't going to be good enough, he knew he would have to pull out his hidden cards. This would take longer than he thought, but it would be worth it to help this family heal.

"By the way, I rebuilt her after the crash," Dean pointed out, "Want some help with your Mustang? We'll get her back on the road before you know it. You can get rid of that girly Golf."

"Yeah, that's Pru's car," Melinda pointed out, "It was just a loan for last night."

Dean would have missed the next part if he wasn't by the hood of the car, "But you get to fix my broken brake line if you really want to get your hands dirty." He smiled, realizing that he was working his way in there. Now he just had to get her to open up.

"Could you not talk to your Aunt Paige?" Bianca asked from the uncomfortable couch in the attic. She learned a long time ago that it was some great-aunt's from the 1920s, which is why they didn't get rid of it, but damn it was bad. And when you were eight months pregnant, it was even worse.

"She'll be working right now," Wyatt sighed, flipping through the pages of The Book of Shadows, their family tome, "I'll call her later on and discuss it then. Right now, I'm just looking through my options."

"You're on a clock remember."

"Don't remind me," Wyatt sighed and then glanced over at his pregnant wife, "I will save Dean before she is born, I promise."

"I didn't mean this clock," Bianca shook her head, "I meant your childhood friend's clock."

Voices from the hallway gave Bianca a reason to get up from the couch. She didn't want to leave Wyatt alone, but she really didn't want to sit there anymore. She'd hoped when Dana had gotten up here that she could go for a nap, but Dana then got a call from those damned Elders. Nope, she needed to stay at that point. Now, she didn't.

"I'm going to a lie down, okay, Wy?"

Wyatt smiled and kissed his wife, before she waddled out of the attic. She was so selfless, and it drove him crazy at times. He'd been telling her to go and get comfortable ages ago.

"Hi, Leo." He heard her voice as Bianca passed her father-in-law on the stairs.

"That was Bianca." Leo now said, and Wyatt guessed that Dean and Sam were on their way up. Bianca was fast asleep last night, and Wyatt wasn't going to wake her to bring her here to meet Dean. The Winchesters would be here for a while. They'd meet her soon enough. He still felt a little guilty about not telling Dean that he'd got married last year, but it seemed both of them had kept some secrets from each other.

"_Hey, careful. I gotcha!" Wyatt instinctively put his hands out to grab the falling brunette woman. When he helped her back to her feet, he was mesmerized by her exotic beauty. Her brown eyes drew her in, and her Latin American skin added to it._

"_Thanks," the woman breathed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. That was when Wyatt saw the mark on her wrist. It was a birthmark that meant she was a Phoenix witch. His parents had warned him about them, but had never said just how beautiful they were. The girl seemed to notice what Wyatt was staring at and tried to cover it up, as if she was nervous about it, "I...erm..."_

"_You're a Phoenix?"_

"_No," the girl shook her head, "Well, yes I guess. But I don't follow their...idea of what we are. That's what that attack was all about."_

_Wyatt nodded his head. It made sense. The demon he'd just blasted to oblivion was a bounty hunter. Bounty hunter against bounty hunter didn't make much sense, unless one was on the run._

"_I'm Wyatt." He offered his hand with a classic Halliwell smile._

"_Bianca."_

The rest was history. Well, not quite. That was five years ago, and he was in a relatively serious relationship at the time. Plus, he was still a little iffy around her. She saved his bacon on a few demon vanquishes, and he eventually broke up with his girlfriend. Then the rest was history.

"You've got a good set up here, Leo," Sam Winchester said as he entered the attic, looking around in awe, "I could never imagine living somewhere and hunting demons. Not unless it was some underground, top secret bunker."

"Mom always thought we deserved some sort of normal life," Wyatt shrugged his shoulders and then realized there was only one Winchester, "Where's Dean?"

"Your sister woke and went straight to the car," Leo explained, "Dean went to see if he could help." Wyatt knew that that meant two things: see if he could help with the car and get to the root of the problem. He didn't hold out much help though, scared that Melinda was lost forever. Without something drastic happening, she wasn't going to come back to them. But the near-death experience had already happened.

"Sam wants to see how much he can help up here."

"And I wanted to see your impressive set-up."

Wyatt grinned, thinking back to when his dad offered Sam's dad the chance for the boys to stay with them. Piper and Leo had desperately wanted Dean and Sam to stay and grow up like normal kids. They'd—well, Piper—had always believed in having a normal life, and growing up on the road to hunt demons wasn't normal. Wyatt was so excited about the idea of having two more 'brothers,' and he and Dean had already planned the room that they would share. But it wasn't meant to be. John had said no, and just like that the Winchester brothers were gone.

"Did you find anything?" Sam asked, walking around to look at the large book that sat on a pedestal. Leo had explained that this was the home of The Book of Shadows. The family's big book of magic and history. It was much more impressive than he expected. He'd love to go through all the pages.

"Nothing quite," Wyatt sighed, "But I'm not even through half of it yet and one thing you learn in this family is that this book keeps growing. New pages are added when you least expect them to be."

**I know it's moving slowly at the moment, but I need to build the connections with each of the characters. It's going to start moving forward with the storyline very soon. I promise.**

**Please do leave a review and tell me what you think! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks RHatch89 for the review. Glad you enjoyed the chapter.**

**As I promised, I'm sharing the next chapter now. It's a relatively short chapter, but I do have a much longer one after this. Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 5

Dean watched Melinda as she worked. Despite being hungover—or maybe still drunk—she knew what she was doing. She was working with precise accuracy.

"You know, you can't work on the brake line if you're not looking at it." She suddenly point out, and Dean realized that he was busted. He couldn't help but smirk, though. Part of him wanted to be busted.

"So, how have you been since I last saw you?" Dean asked, going back to work on the brake line.

"You mean, what? Almost 20 years ago?"

"Was it really that long?" Dean asked, knowing that it was. It was 18 years ago this year. It didn't feel that long ago that he'd be pulled out of his second home.

"I was four, Dean. Just so you know, I'm not sharing," Melinda turned to him, a cold look in her eyes, "No chick-flick moments."

Dean laughed with a little humor behind it, "That's my line."

"Well, then," Mel stated, "Guess we agree on something." And she went back to work in silence. Dean had no idea how he was going to get this girl to open up to him. He now realized why her dad and brothers were on the edge of breaking.

"I hope when she's fixed you're not gonna take her out for a joyride again. I'd hate to see this beauty back in this condition." Dean frown when a male voice spoke out. Mel's facial expression softened, though. So there was someone who could get through to her. Mel rolled herself out from under the car and stood up. Dean had to do the same to find out who was there.

"Hey, Riley," Melinda smiled, reaching for her bottle of beer. Riley grabbed the bottle long before she could and poured it out on the floor. Dean winced at the idea of Melinda blowing up at this guy, "What the hell?"

"Pru told me about last night," Riley shrugged and then looked at Dean, "Don't be afraid to take any of her crap, Winchester."

Dean frowned. Had Wyatt told this guy about him? He'd heard the name Pru, but didn't realize that she knew that Dean was here. Had Wyatt said something when he went to P3? Then Dean realized who this was.

"Cross?"

"That's me," Riley grinned, "Wondered when you'd recognize me. Didn't take you as long as I thought. You've got a damn good memory, Winchester. Wyatt text to say you were here."

"So, you and Wy still friends."

"The best."

Dean hadn't spent as much time with Riley as he did with Wyatt, but he liked him straight away. Riley was like another son to Piper and Leo, showing just how big their hearts were.

"He reports back like a good lapdog." Melinda's voice suddenly went cold, and she went back to work on the car. Dean raised an eyebrow to Melinda and then back at Riley. The half-demon—yeah, half-demon but a good one—waved Dean's concern off.

"She likes to try and run me into the ground," Riley said and then looked over at Melinda, "When you have your cousin Pru as a girlfriend that's not exactly easy."

"Ah, you're the Riley they were talking about, last night." Dean was starting to piece everything together. There was a lot that nobody had told him. He was feeling less and less guilty about not telling them everything now.

"Are you going to have your bromance and leave my brake line now?" A voice called out from under the car. Riley chuckled and motioned to go into the house, but Dean decided against it. He was going to help Melinda, even if it killed him. Riley shrugged his shoulders and made his way into the house, leaving Dean to work on a very frosty Melinda.

Dean got back onto the roller-board and got back under the car. Melinda glanced at him and shook her head with a humorless laugh.

"What?" Dean questioned with a frown.

"If you're trying to get in my pants, Winchester, you have another thing coming." She shook her head. Dean raises his eyebrows at her forwardness. He had never met a woman who could up against him in cars, drinking and now wit. He was really starting to admire this girl.

"Never crossed my mind, Little Bit," He called her the nickname he'd made up 18 years ago, and smiled when he saw a smile creep on her face, "I just want to get up the car's skirt. That's all." He knew the way to get through to her.

"So, what's Winchester doing down in the garage with your sister?" Riley asked walking straight into the office. He stopped when he saw Sam and then smiled, "Sammy!"

"Seriously, does everyone call me Sammy here?"

Riley and Wyatt laughed, "You can blame that on your big bro."

Sam rolled his eyes and then looked back at Riley, "Sorry, I don't remember much from here."

"Oh right, I'm Riley," Riley held out his hand, which Sam took to shake, "I just saw Dean under the Mustang."

"That doesn't surprise me," Sam sighed, "He didn't exactly want to come here."

"Why are you here?" Riley could tell from the serious look now on Wyatt's face that this was a life or death situation. He wasn't ready to hear about the full story, and shook his head at the idea of it. Winchester was going to Hell. Well, damn if they were going to let that happen.

"So, what do you need me to do?"

"Bianca offered, but with her..."

"Eight months pregnant, yeah that isn't going to happen," Riley shook his head, "Just ask, man."

"I know Pru will kill me, but that demon bar..."

"Want me to get some answers?" Riley asked, and laughed a humorless laugh, "What's your questions?"

"Did you say demon bar?" Sam turned to Wyatt. He was really doubting his brother's and father's trusts in these witches. Why would they go to a demon bar?

"I'll explain later," Wyatt turned to Sam, clearly wanting to pass some information to Riley, "It's really not that bad."

"It's nothing that I haven't done for the past 10 years at least, anyway." Riley shrugged his shoulders, as if this was a daily occurrence. He then turned back to Wyatt and found out everything that he needed to ask. This wasn't going to be the easiest conversation he had in there, but he knew of someone in there who might be able to give him some answers. If not answers, then point him in the right direction of some.

"I'll text you if I have anything," Riley smiled, "And if Pru asks..."

"You're on an errand for me." Wyatt shrugged his shoulders, making it clear that he wasn't lying; just wasn't exactly telling the truth. With that, Riley shimmered out and Sam now wanted answers. Wyatt sighed, realizing that there was a lot the younger Winchester didn't remember about the Halliwell family. Dean had obviously hidden some information from him over the years. They never did call on each other to handle a demonic situation since that even 18 years ago, so why would Dean ever tell his little brother about the whole event. Why would Sam remember one two-week trip to San Francisco? He'd travelled all around the country with his family. He'd stayed in many cities, and met plenty of people. A two-week "vacation" with the Halliwells wasn't exactly going to be memorable, even if it did involve his big brother going missing for a week.

"Hey, short stop, Wyatt has a mission for me." Riley shouted out. He had to over the rock music Mel and Dean had decided to play while working on the car. When he realized neither of them heard him, he turned the music off.

"Hey!" Dean complained from under the car, but Mel rolled out with fire in her eyes.

"I've told you guys..." She stopped when she saw Riley and glared at him, making a point to pick up one of the bottles of beer on the workbench. It was a fresh one, and Riley simply rolled his eyes.

"Wyatt has a mission for me, wanna come?" Riley held his hands up, showing there were no tricks up his sleeves. Not that he had sleeves on with it being the middle of spring in sunny California.

"What type of mission?"

"Demon bar mission."

That piqued Dean's interest and he rolled out from under the car.

"Demon bar?"

Riley ignored Dean and continued to look at Melinda. She downed her beer and made her way past Riley.

"Give me 10 minutes to shower and change." She simply said and walked out of the garage. Riley grinned and then looked down at Dean holding his hand out to help him up.

"How about you?" He asked, "I gather you're trying to get her to open up, and this could be your chance."

"To a demon bar?" Dean scrunched his nose up in disgust, "Are you serious?"

"Very serious," Riley nodded, "I'll explain on the way, but you're welcome to come if you want. Mel always eases up when she's in there. But a word of warning, I do all the talking."

Dean narrowed his eyes at the idea of taking Mel into a demon bar. It sounded dirty, dangerous and down-right wrong. But at the same time, he knew that it made sense. She would have to pretend to be someone else, and that would make it a lot easier for her. To top it off, there was alcohol, and she'd already shown her preference for that stuff.

"Okay, I'm in," Dean nodded, "But you're explaining everything about it before we walk through the doors."

"Deal."

**I love the idea of Wyatt and the half-manticore from season 6 of Charmed growing up together, so I preferred to keep him in. What do you think about the idea of them going to a demon bar? I could see Dean being intrigued enough to go...but will he behave?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Gabyhyatt: Thanks for the review. I know you wanted Melinda to fall for Dean soon, and I hope you're happy with this chapter.**

**This is a longer one to keep you entertained while I'm away. This is where it really gets to M rated so you have been warned!**

Chapter 6

Wyatt sighed as he sat on the uncomfortable couch that belonged to his great-great-aunt Pearl. How had Bianca stayed on this for so long earlier today? Thinking of her, he hadn't checked on her in a while. Glancing at the door, he stood up.

"I'm just checking on B." He told Sam and then walked out of the room.

Sam was leafing through The Book of Shadows. It was amazing. Full of creatures and demons he'd never heard of it. He particularly found the Demon of Fear interesting, but shuddered at the idea of clowns running around everywhere. There was so much in this tome, but he soon realized that there was nothing that could help Dean's predicament. Dean really was going to Hell.

As he shut The Book, blue and white lights filled the room. Sam had learned that the family could usually tell who was coming into the room before they materialized in the lights, but Sam had no idea. It seemed each person's lights gave off a unique style, but clearly you had to live with them long enough.

"Hey, Sam," Chris smiled as he formed in the lights, "Find anything?"

"Nothing yet."

"Where's Wyatt?"

"Right here." Wyatt walked back into the room, and the two brothers got into a conversation about something Chris had found out. It turned out that they really were pulling out all the stops to save Dean. Not only had Wyatt asked Riley to go to some demon bar, but some of the cousins and Dana was checking with The Elders, who Sam found out were the whitelighters' bosses; and the Halliwells didn't really like them for some reason, but Chris was half-Elder and not half-whitelighter. This family was getting more complicated by the second.

It also turned out that their Aunt Paige was working with other members of the magical community to see if they could help. Fairies and leprechauns really existed. Who knew?

"Did you try the demon Dean made the deal with?" Chris turned to Sam. That should have been something they asked first.

"Of course we did," Sam rolled his eyes, "She said she didn't hold the contract. Her boss did."

"Who's her boss?"

He never did find that out when he had the red-eyed demonic bitch trapped. He was more angry at the fact that he and Dean couldn't switch places. It was his life that had been saved. He should have had more of a say about this.

"So, she has a boss somewhere in the underworld, I'm guessing," Chris sighed and turned to Wyatt, "Might wanna pass that info to Riley. I'll let Dana know."

Wyatt just nodded as Chris orbed out, he then turned to Sam.

"We'll save Dean, Sammy," Wyatt could tell that Sam was defeated about this, "I promise you we'll save him."

But Sam wasn't too sure.

Dean walked down the alleyway following Riley and Melinda. He couldn't help but watch Melinda's ass as she walked. She was in skin-tight black skinny jeans, and a sexy black corseted top. It was the high-heeled, thigh-high boots that really tipped it for Dean, though. She could jump his bones any day.

"So, you need to keep your mouth shut as much as you can when you're in here, Dean," Riley said, pulling Dean out of his very wrong thoughts, "This is a dangerous place. One wrong move and you could end up dead. It's why Pru hates me coming here."

"It's also why I'm not to say anything to Wyatt or Chris about bringing Mel here, huh?" Dean grinned, catching up to his childhood friends. Riley just nodded his head. They'd already gone through the history of Riley finding the bar. Apparently, it was only visible to him because of his demon blood. He walked in by chance, and realized what he'd stumbled upon. He wasn't going to go back, until he realized he could create an alias and find out information that would help the Halliwells.

It had all paid off up until now, too. Nobody had realized that he was really the half-manticore baby that Piper Halliwell had helped saved when he was just six months old.

When it came to magic, witches and good magical beings were the most at risk. They were powerless. Only demonic powers could be used, but Mel didn't seem bothered by that. Either she'd gotten used to it, or she really hated her powers. That wasn't the Melinda he remembered. The four-year-old Melinda who looked up to her brothers and wanted to be just like her mother adored having powers and casting spells.

With a heavy heart, Dean realized just how times changed. Heartbreak and death really affected people in different ways.

"I'm Jackson while we're in there, okay?" Riley reminded Dean, and he nodded, "Melinda is Nefaria and you...you can be..."

As Riley thought, Melinda grinned, "Damien."

"The spawn of Satan?" Dean frowned, recognizing _The Omen_ reference.

"Well, you are going to Hell, right?" Riley nodded his head in agreement with the idea of Damien being his alias while in the demon bar. Dean had to admit that it fit, even if he really didn't like the name; or the little boy in the Goddamn movie.

"We're here." Riley said, making Dean stop. He looked around and waiting for Riley to drag him back along, saying he was joking. It was a wall. There wasn't a door, and nothing that even looked like it could be a door.

Melinda rolled her pretty green eyes, covered in dark black eye shadow and walked through the wall. Dean soon realized that Riley really did mean that the door was covered from anyone without demon blood. He stepped up to the wall, feeling like he should have been on London's King's Cross Station trying to get to platform 9 and 3/4, and then stepped through.

He didn't realize he had his eyes closed until he got to the other side. It was buzzing with discussion and laughter. Glasses were clinking, there were cheers, it was just like a normal bar. That was until Dean really looked around.

There were dead humans pinned to walls, some of the booths were covered in what had to be real human skin, and Dean wondered whether the pool balls were really eye balls. It really was a demon bar.

He jumped when he felt an arm on his shoulder, but relaxed when he realized that it was just Riley. He'd come in behind Dean, and grabbed him to steer him towards the bar.

"Don't stare. You'll only draw attention to yourself. Follow Mel and act like you would in a normal bar," Riley then thought again about that comment, "Well, if you were just going in for a drink and not pick up girls, I guess."

"How did you know?"

"You, Winchester, were always a ladies' man. You had Piper in stitches every time with how much of a gentleman you _pretended_ to be."

Riley walked over to the bar, and Dean did as he was told; followed Melinda. She had sat in one of the booths covered in human skin, making Dean's own flesh crawl. She just looked like she was at home. It freaked him out, but he had to remember that she'd been here a few times. He wondered what she'd been like the first time she was here.

"So, come here often?" Dean flashed her his cheeky smile, and he saw a genuine smile appear on her face for the first time without having a car around to do it.

A bottle of what looked like whiskey appeared in between Mel and Dean, along with two glasses. Dean really hoped that it was whiskey. Dean was about to thank whoever it was that put it there, but Mel grabbed his cheeks between her thumb and index finger. Her green eyes looked directly into his, as if she was bearing into his soul. After a few minutes, she let go and pour some of the whiskey into the glasses.

"You don't talk to people in here, remember?"

"I can't say thanks?"

"Demons don't thank people, _Damien_." Melinda made it clear that anybody could be overhearing their conversation right now, and she certainly didn't want trouble. She just wanted to drink. Dean was fine with that. The more she drunk, the more he'd be able to get her to open up.

It took about two hours, and Dean couldn't help but glance over to the bar every now and then. Riley had moved between a few people, but was now sitting playing a game of what Dean could only guess was poker with a group of demons. There were demons all off kinds in here, just not the black-eyed bastards he was used to dealing with. It was clear they didn't want trouble. They came here to drink and gloat, and some would have business meetings. He decided he could pretend to be in a business meeting with Melinda, while he got her talking.

"So tell me," Dean started, pouring more of the whiskey—and it was damn good whiskey—into both of their glasses, "How come Sammy, who was six the last time we were here, doesn't remember anything but you do. You were four."

"You never realized, did you?" Melinda shook her head, looking back into Dean's eyes, "I thought you were amazing back then. If I was 10 years older, I'd have said it was a crush, but no...this was...you were sorta like my brothers. You were strong, looked out for me, but most of all you let me join in."

Dean couldn't help but smile as she remembered the good times of her past.

"That and I haven't moved around as much as you and Sam. I didn't have loads of people to remember and place names to recall. Trips in the car meant something to mean, unlike you two."

Dean had a point there. He couldn't recall every place that he'd ever been to. The places that he did remember were memories for a reason. They were either hunts that he had dealt with himself, or there was something that stood out in the trip. It could have been a conversation with Sammy, or may have been an event with someone in his life at the time. San Francisco stood out because it was the first time that he felt like he could belong somewhere, and he made friends. Friends that he still had now.

"So, you tell me," Melinda now looked at Dean, "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing want?"

"Drinking with me?" she asked, "You've seen the way everyone looks at me. _Jackson_ puts up with me because he thinks it's a phase and I'll get it all out of my system. That's not you. You know..."

"I know how you feel," Dean shrugged his shoulders, "And I get that alcohol makes it all so much fucking easier to deal with."

Dean downed his shot and then waited for Melinda to do the same. Once she did, Dean poured them more out of the bottle. It was running low, but he realized he didn't need to order another one. It appeared on the table as if someone had read his mind.

"He has a deal with the barman," Melinda explained, seeing the smirk appear on Dean's lips, "My glass never runs dry until I say so."

"I like that deal."

And it certainly was. Dean convinced Melinda to open up some more—only about the small stuff, but it was something—and Dean bitched about random nonsense. By the time Riley had gotten the answers he came for, both were drunk as skunks and struggling to walk. They were so bad that Riley decided to leave them once he got them far enough away from the bar, so they wouldn't put themselves in danger.

"So, another bar?" Dean offered, slightly disappointed that he wouldn't get the same treatment as he had in the demon bar. He never thought he'd have so much fun in there, but it was actually a decent place to just drink and actually have no trouble at all. It was just the main company that made it questionable.

"Or..." Melinda grabbed Dean's jacket and pulled him close to her. He wasn't ready for her when she kissed him deep and hard. There were no feelings in it, except for lust, passion and need. Melinda needed to feel something, and Dean was just there. He knew that, but it wasn't going to stop him from letting her get this fix.

He wasn't sure how they'd gotten here, but somehow they were at the front door of Melinda's apartment. She was fumbling with keys in the lock while he kissed her neck and ran his hands every place he could. He grabbed her breasts hard, causing her to hiss in both pain and pleasure.

"C'mon, Mel." he said, just wanted to get her on the other side of the door. He'd kick it down if he needed to.

She finally got the key turned and the door flew open. They both went stumbling in, with the door crashing on the wall. Neither of them cared, as they attacked each other's mouths again. Dean didn't realize it until now, but he needed this, too. He just needed to feel something and forget that he was going to hell in three months time. He grabbed the front door and slammed it shut with his whole body. Melinda had pushed herself into him, trapping him between her and the door. The black shirt he'd borrowed for the trip to the bar was ripped open by Melinda and pushed down his arms. He had no objection taking it off.

Now he turned Melinda around so she had her back to him. His hands roamed her body roughly again, as his lips sucked and bit at her neck. He wasn't going to let her go anywhere from him tonight. She was his, and he was making that clear. As Melinda let out a moan of pleasure, Dean smirked.

"That's my girl."

He gripped at the front of the top. He'd secretly already been checking out how to get her out of this top while in the bar. This had been on his mind the whole time after seeing her step out in the outfit, but he never thought she'd go for it. The front of the top was full of hook and eyes, and he undid each one of them, letting the top fall to the floor between them. He was certainly not disappointed to find out that she had no bra on underneath. One hand went straight to her exposed breasts, as the other travelled down to between her legs. He cupped the lower hand around and rubbed.

Melinda let out another moan, making it clear she was enjoying this. Dean grinned and then forced her to turn around and face him. He gripped her face in both hands and kissed her hard, backing her into one of the walls in the hallway. She was now trapped between him the wall, and she was enjoying it.

Melinda wrapped her legs around Dean's waist, letting his strong arms hold her up. He didn't seem to complain, and in fact just rolled his hips against her. She attacked his mouth, stifling his groan of pleasure. She ran her nails down his back, causing him to roll his hips against her again and moan once more. He was rock hard against her, and she was not complaining. She needed this. She just wanted to feel something, and what was better than an orgasm?

Dean carried her down the hallway but had no idea where he was going. He worked his way to the couch, and they landed on it with him on top of her. He could really then rub his hips against her, causing them both to moan, wishing it was something more. They both needed more contact. Something better that this.

As Dean stood up, Melinda was about to complain. But she realized that he was just unfastening the black belt and his black pants. Damn did he look good dressed as a demon. And damn did he look good in just his boxers. While he took off his shoes and pants, she unfastened her thigh-high heeled boots and took them off. She unfastened her pants after that, but Dean was too quick. He ripped them down her legs and off in one move. This boy had skills.

She was left in a lacy black thong—she had to look good, especially when dressed as a demon—and he was in his boxers. Standing, she decided they were moving this into the bedroom. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her room. He started off a couple of steps behind her, but soon ended up right behind, his body pressed against hers. His hands returned to roaming around her body, and she enjoyed the rough feel of those hands. They had done stuff that no other hands had done, and she knew she was going to find out what they could do to her.

One hand moved down back between her legs. Without the material of her jeans in the way, the feeling was much more intense.

"Oh, God!" Melinda moaned out loud, not even bothered that she had said something. It just felt so good, so right and so needed. She covered his hand with hers and guided it around her thong, to where she was dripping wet already. He had done this to her in the cab ride all the way over and up the stairs to her apartment. It was like they were animals, and she found it incredibly hot. There had been some amazing guys in her life lately, but this one really was taking the top spot so far.

Dean couldn't help but feel even more turned on as he felt Melinda's hand copying his every move, and feeling just how wet he had made her. But he knew the idea of her own fingers inside herself with his were the most erotic thing he'd felt in a long time. In fact, he couldn't think of a girl who had followed the exact same moves of his hands and fingers.

They'd stopped walked as they got to what he could only guess was her bedroom door. Melinda put her hand on the handle, and Dean decided to test these boundaries, right now. He switched their hand positions, so hers was on the inside, and he was moving her fingers in and out of her own hot, wet hole. She didn't complain once. In fact, she moaned more, making Dean harder by the minute. This girl was going to kill him.

"God, I'm gonna...I'm gonna come." Mel said, almost shocked that Dean had helped her do this.

"Do it, baby." Dean order her, and he felt her tense and she let off a moan. With his free hand he'd pushed her head to face his so he could kiss her hard. The moan caught in his mouth, as he pushed his tongue past her lips. Her body shook as she came down from the high. He body relaxed and he turned her to face him.

Melinda looked deep into Dean's gorgeous green eyes, shocked at herself that she'd allowed him to do all that. If it wasn't for all that alcohol, there was no chance that she'd have had the confidence for that. Damn, alcohol was good.

But Dean wasn't finished. He attacked her mouth and picked her up again. She could just wrap her arms and legs around him, as he opened the door and walked them into the bedroom. The bed was soon underneath her, but Dean's warm body left. She opened her eyes to see him standing over her pulling his own boxers off, and then he grabbed her thong, ripping it as it came off her legs. She was never going to be able to wear that again.

Not that she minded having a memento from the night. She needed something to remember how good Dean made her feel. This was the best she had felt in a long time, and that included before Piper's death.

All thoughts of her mother's death and anything that came before were soon out of her head, as Dean's head ducked between her legs. He licked her slit, causing her back to arch and moan out loud. She ran her fingers though her brown hair, not knowing what else to do with them. His tongue was doing tricks that she wasn't sure she'd ever felt, and then he placed a finger and then two in.

"Mmm, Dean..." She called out his name and then mentally kicked herself. How could she call out his name? He'd realize that it was meaning something to her right now. She didn't want that. She couldn't have that.

Dean stopped, and Mel realized that that had been too much for him. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Dean putting his boxers back on. But instead, he was standing over her with a sexy smile on his face. He enjoyed hearing his name escape her lips. He wanted that.

Dean's lips came crashing down on hers, and he helped her up the bed so she was comfortable. He climbed onto the double bed with her, and laid kisses up her body as he reached the top. Before either of them knew it, he was inside her pumping hard and fast. There was no love or compassion in this night. It was hot, sexy and animalistic.

It was everything the two of them wanted and needed tonight.

Dean was pumping as hard and as fast as he could. He could feel her getting tighter around her, knowing that she was getting close again. The alcohol in his system was helping him last a little longer than usual, and he was determined to get one more orgasm out of her after this one. He would hold on this time.

She heard him hiss as she dug her nails into his back again. She didn't care if she was hurting him right now. She was getting closer and needed to make it clear to him that if he came right now, he was in trouble. He didn't come. He didn't even seem close. Instead, her toes curled, and she ranked her finger nails down his back. A scream was going to release from her lips until Dean covered her mouth with his again.

Dean was still going, while she recovered from that second orgasm. He would give her a third before he was gone, but he needed to change position. He wanted her to ride him, so he could seen everything clearly. Grabbing her around the waist, he forced them onto his back, quickly enough so he didn't come out. Melinda didn't complain about this change, and he was in his element watching her ride him.

She sat back and rocked her hips on top of him. Her hands rubbed his abdomen and chest, while his gripped up her thighs, bum, hips, everywhere he could reach. He then pulled her down on top of him and held onto the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair while he kissed her hard. She continued to rock, but found it difficult to get a rhythm like that.

Pulling out of Dean's grasp, she rocked again. Her rhythm picked up, and now she could see in his eyes that he was getting close. She could feel another orgasm getting closer, but didn't know if he could hold on. That was until his thumb started playing with the clit. The feeling on that tiny bundle of nerves got her closer sooner than she expected. She gripped his chest and ran her nails down it.

Dean could feel the orgasm getting closer, but he needed her to come again. The pain from her nails was nothing as the pleasure built. In fact, he was enjoying the nails in his chest. It was as if without warning that he suddenly climaxed and spilled his seed inside of her. He wasn't alone. Melinda fell forward as she came for that third time, using his neck to muffle her scream.

He moved his hand out from between them, and rested it on her back. The two just laid there for a few minutes, catching their breaths. Despite the possibly hundreds of women that he had slept with in the past, he wasn't sure if there was ever a night just like this one. He certainly couldn't recall one right now.

The cool night air hit his body as Melinda rolled off him and laid on her back. They both looked up at the ceiling, still breathing hard.

"Wow!" Dean finally admitted to her just how good it was. That one word was enough.

"I know," Melinda sighed. All guards were down for that one minute. They both just reveled in the awesomeness of that moment, "This needs to be a regular thing while you're in town, Winchester."

Dean was definitely not going to complain. This would be a regular thing. He'd make sure of it.

**So, there are you are. I hoped you enjoyed that chapter. There is plenty more to come with this story and now I can get into the whole deal situation...let me know what you thought about the chapter and I'll see you next week with chapter 7!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Gabyhyatt: I love that you think the last chapter was hot. That's just what I was going for ;) Thanks for taking the time to review.**

**I'm back from my vacation now, and back to regularly posting. It's great to know that people are enjoying this story, because I've had so much fun writing it. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Now it's going to really get into the story...**

Chapter 7

Pru walked up the stairs to her cousin's apartment, and put her hand up to knock on the door. But she didn't knock. It was still early for Melinda, so she was still probably sleeping off last night. Frowning, she wondered just how many bottles of Jack the brunette witch had gone through last night.

Instead, she pulled out her spare key to her cousin's apartment and opened the door. Walking through, she instantly tripped over a discarded black shirt and top. Melinda had brought a guy home. Great! And this guy hadn't even left in the middle of the night. Pru rolled her eyes, knowing that her cousin was not going to be happy about that.

She closed the door with a loud enough bang, hoping to wake the two up in the bedroom down the hall. There was no movement around the apartment.

Rather than going to the bedroom, Pru decided to put some coffee on. She'd have a cup ready before the hangover monster really came out. That was when she noticed the two pairs of black pants by the couch, along with Melinda's demon-playing boots. The only time she wore those boots was when she went to the demon bar. She'd gone home with a demon!

Pru quickly threw her bag on the counter and forgot all about the coffee. She needed to check on her cousin. How could she be so stupid to bring a demon home with her?

"Mel!" Pru shouted out as she opened the bedroom door, and looked straight to the bed. Two people sat up in shocked. Pru raised her hands ready to use her powers to slow the demon down so Melinda to get out, but then she stopped. She knew who that was, and it certainly wasn't a demon, "Dean?"

"Shit!" Melinda scolded under her breath as she quickly got dressed.

"Mel..." Dean started, but there wasn't really anything he could say. In the light of the morning, last night wasn't as amazing as it seemed at the time. Well, it was amazing, but it wasn't the best thing to do. It was alcohol-fuelled passion and now Wyatt was going to stop trying to help save him from his one-way trip to Hell.

Pru had been kind enough to bring Dean the clothes from last night to him so he didn't have to walk around in just his boxers. But he knew Mel's brothers would find out by the time he got home about last night.

"Pru is gonna kill Riley." Melinda finally sighed. Dean pulled the borrowed shirt over his shoulders with a confused look. This is what she was bothered about? Not him getting killed by her brothers for defiling their little sister?

"Riley?"

"What, you think she'll tell Wyatt and Chris about you?" Melinda laughed in his face, "Not a chance. This stays between the three of us. I told you last night; we're doing that again."

Dean couldn't help but grin, knowing that she remembered just how amazing last night way. But now he wondered about Riley again, "So, Riley?"

"Pru will know I went to the demon bar, and she'll know Riley took me."

"How?" Dean frowned, "How will she know that's where we were."

Melinda held up the boots that were originally in the living room of the apartment. Dean still didn't understand, leaving Mel to tell him that they were her demon-dress-up boots. She only wore them when she went to the demon bar, and that was why Pru came running in. She'd thought Mel was in bed with the enemy.

"Just say you've been out in them."

"They know..."

"Do they know everything from the last year or so?" Melinda shook her head at that remark, "So how does she know that you didn't go out in them. I took you out to get you drunk."

"I don't need your help to get drunk."

"I know," Dean nodded, remembering being caught in the leg with the bottle of Jack Daniels when he rocked up to the Halliwell Manor that first night, "I was making sure you were safe."

"Then my brothers will find out."

"Nah, I brought you home when you'd had more than enough and then pulled some chick on the way back," Dean shrugged his shoulders, "Sam will know that that sounds like a typical Dean move. He's trying to save me, and I'm having the night of my life."

Dean caught Melinda's grin, as she realized that he had a great tale to tell everyone. That would work. Riley wouldn't get in trouble with Pru, Dean wouldn't get kicked out by her brothers, and they could keep meeting up on a night. She wanted the latter to keep happening. She needed it. Last night was the first time that she felt something other than emptiness in a long time, and she craved that feeling again.

Dean grabbed both sides of Melinda's head and kissed her hard, biting her bottom lip as he pulled away, "I'll let you finish getting dressed. Coffee?"

"Beer."

"Coffee it is." Dean smirked and walked out of the room.

Melinda shook her head, staring at where he'd been standing before.

Dean stopped on the opposite side of the door as he closed it gently. Their hangovers were going to kick in any minute, and he didn't want to make it worse with a slamming door. The adrenaline running through his body was enough to keep his at bay for now, but if he wanted to keep it completely at bay he would need coffee right now.

A beer would be a good alternative, but he wasn't going to start drinking again right now. He'd save that for later when he was in Melinda's company.

"Hey." Dean smiled walking into the kitchen, seeing Pru sitting at the breakfast bar, nursing a mug of coffee. He'd made her jump. She was obviously on edge after that little scare.

"I'm sorry about that, Dean," Pru sighed, realizing who it was behind him, "I just...I thought she'd really done a number this time by bringing a demon home. I've been waiting for the day for her to do that."

"She's really that destructive?"

"You didn't see how destructive she could be last night or the night before?" Pru questioned, "What were you doing in the demon bar, anyway?"

"There's a demon bar?" Dean kept his poker face, lying to protect both Riley and Melinda. Pru narrowed her eyes with a frown, trying to work out whether he was lying. "I wouldn't be caught dead where those bastards drank, unless I was killing every damn one of them."

Pru nodded, lowering her brown eyes to the coffee. She was certain she was going to end up killing her boyfriend. Riley could protect himself in the bar, but Melinda would be useless. Pru hated the fact that he would take her there now and then. Wyatt didn't know about that right now, but she couldn't keep lying for them. But she knew that Dean wouldn't stand for being in a demon bar. Something deep down told her that he hated demons with a passion, and that he was telling the truth.

"I won't tell anyone about this, by the way," Pru smiled weakly, "I'm just relieved that you're not, well..."

"A demon?" Dean grinned, making his way into the kitchen, looking around for the cupboard with the cups.

"The one by the fridge."

Dean threw Pru a thankful smile and grabbed two mugs, pouring himself and Melinda much needed coffees.

"So, where were you?"

"God only knows," Dean shrugged his shoulders, and took a large gulp of the black coffee, "God that's good. So much better than the motel rooms."

"Mel has always wanted the best coffee. She is her mother's daughter, but really hates to admit it."

Dean looked at Pru, tilting his head to one side. He could see that she missed her cousin. He'd learned from Wyatt that Mel and Pru were once best friends, but all that changed this year. Mel's destructive path was tearing at the seams of their friendship.

Pru was trying not to lose her friend, but the alcohol, late nights and destructive behavior were making it impossible for her to stand by Mel. She just wanted Melinda to get the help she desperately needed. There was hope that the car crash would solve that, but Mel just didn't seem to care. It was like all she wanted was to kill herself in the worst possible way.

"Don't you have your own problems to deal with than to help Melinda?" Pru suddenly asked, as if she was accusing him of having ulterior motives, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay," Dean shrugged his shoulders, as Melinda finally came out of her room and into the kitchen, "Maybe I do have my own problems, but I'm not getting out of my deal. I'm gonna have fun on Earth and help others while I can. It's something that Sam just isn't getting."

"Why did you make the deal?" Pru now shook her head, trying to get into his head.

"Are you a shrink or something?" Dean laughed, but answered her question anyway. He told her about Sam's death and the decision to save him. It was a conversation he'd had with Melinda the night before, but she knew that he was missing something else out. The fact that it was one-up on his dad, who had sold his own soul almost the year before that to save Dean from death; pulling him back just as he was accepting his fate.

Melinda stood in silence, drinking the coffee. God, it could have done with a splash or whiskey, rum or anything to give it the kick she needed. She'd need it to dull the headache that was forming from the drink last night. For the last-how long had it been now? 13 months? Maybe 14-she hadn't suffered a hangover. The beauty was in the constant drinking. There wasn't a day where she didn't have at least one drink.

And she could tell that Dean was very much the same. That wasn't just because of what he said last night. He looked like the type of guy who would have at least one drink each day, and she knew he was a hunter. She'd heard about hunters growing up, and the stuff that they would see and deal with. She remembered hearing that it was sometimes worse than she would ever see as a witch.

She'd checked his jacket pocket yesterday before going up the stairs to grab a shower, and felt the hit flask in there. He carried a drink with him every day. She knew there was a reason she entertained the idea of him working on her car yesterday. There was a haunting in his eyes that she felt inside of her every day.

"Right, I need to get back to your brothers," Dean finally said, putting his empty coffee cup down, "Need a cab number."

"I'll drive you there," Pru offered, now that she knew Melinda was safe, "I'm heading over anyway. Apparently they may have cracked something in your case."

Dean's eyebrows raised at the news of that.

"Can I hitch a ride, Pru?" Melinda spoke up. It was the first thing she'd said all morning, "I wanna get back to my baby."

"Get your shit and let's go then." Pru stood, waiting for the two of them to put shoes on and grab anything else they needed. This was going to be a fun one to explain.

They'd discussed their story on the way to the Manor. Pru had gone to Mel's as usual on a morning to make sure she was still alive, and they found Dean on the way so picked him up. Dean had no idea where he ended up after making sure Mel got home safe last night, but it didn't matter. He was back now.

As soon as they walked through the door, there was a chorus of "there you ares" and "thank Gods," all directed at Dean. Melinda smirked at him with a humorless laugh.

"Looks like someone's important."

"We were worried about you man," Wyatt said, standing up from the dining table, "Sam's been trying to call."

Dean frowned. He didn't hear his phone ring. Then he remembered that he'd decide to put it on total silence before going into the demon bar. He didn't want to give away the idea that he wasn't one of them, and a cell phone would do that. Dean pulled out his phone and saw a series of missed calls, text messages and voice mails on the phone.

"I'm safe, Sammy." Dean grinned and walked over to the group. His eyes fell on Riley, who was smirking. He knew exactly what Dean had been up to, and kept looking between him and Mel.

"So, where were you?" Wyatt asked again. He couldn't help but glance at his little sister. Mel rolled her eyes and walked through to the kitchen. She needed beer and her car.

"God only knows," Dean shrugged his shoulders, eyeing Melinda as she walked past. He would need to grab her number to arrange a secret meet-up later, "I got Mel home and then well..."

Wyatt narrowed his eyes. If Dean even said what he thought he was going to say...

"You went back to a bar, didn't you?" Sam frowned. Dean had a guilty look on his face, making Sam scoff and roll his eyes, "I don't believe you, Dean. We're trying out hardest to save your God-damned ass, and you decide it's best to go out drinking. Did you pick up some random girl."

"You know me." Dean shrugged his shoulders, making his way to the stairs. He quickly glanced at Wyatt, who's facial expression was still suspicious, but he really needed a shower and to change. As he ran up the stairs, he heard Pru tell the story of finding Dean on the way home.

"So, he wasn't at Mel's this morning?" Dean heard Wyatt questioned. He waited at the top of the stairs until he heard Pru confirm that he wasn't. He knew she could keep a secret. Mel had told him that they could pull this off. Wyatt and Chris would never have to know that he was sleeping with their little sister.

Sam shook his head. He couldn't believe what his brother had done last night. They were here to save him, and he was acting like he didn't care.

"Wyatt, I picked him up on the way," Pru shrugged her shoulders, making her way to her boyfriend, "What do you want me to say?"

"It's just," Wyatt shook his head, "It's Mel and I don't want someone taking advantage of her right now. I don't want Dean..."

"Dean is trying to help her, dude," Riley had to admit that. When he was in the demon bar with them, he kept glancing over. He could see Mel letting some barriers down. Dean had a way with her that no-one else did. Maybe it was knowing that he was on borrowed time, or that he'd been through some similar crap in his life. Whatever it was, they were good together. He doubted that Dean had left Mel and picked up another girl. He'd seen how much their hands were over each other has he got them out of the bar. But he wasn't going to tell Wyatt any of that. He'd hear the truth from Pru later.

Suddenly a scream from upstairs caught their attention. Everyone jumped up and instantly ran up the stairs.

**Uh oh! What's going on upstairs? Who screamed? I'll leave it there for now and will be back with the next chapter soon. If you really want it, let me know in a review ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone! Thanks again for the reviews. For the first time I've managed to reply privately :)**

**Here's the next chapter. This is a relatively short one compared to others, but still exciting I hope. Please do let me know if you're enjoying it or not...**

Chapter 8

Wyatt was the first to reach the top of the stairs. Riley and Pru were close behind him, with Sam at the bottom.

"What the hell?" Wyatt threw his hands up, as if ready to attack someone, "There is no screaming in this house unless someone is in trouble! You know the rules, Dana!"

"I'm sorry, Wyatt!" Dana now giggled. Sam could hear Dean laughing from the hallway too. It turned out that Dana was just coming out of her room as Dean was coming out of his. The two bumped into each other and Dana screamed at the top of her voice. She wasn't used to other people being in the house during the middle of the day, least of all 6-foot-1-inch hunters.

"False alarm." Wyatt sighed with a shake of his head, ushering everyone downstairs.

"Oh, by the way Dean," Riley shouted out now, "Be quick. We may have a lead."

Melinda hummed along to the song that played on the radio while she worked on the car. She was so tired, though. She let her eyes close for just a second, thinking back to last night.

Some of the night was hazy now, but she remembers the multiple orgasms. She especially remembered the one that Dean had her do herself. She'd never played with herself in front of a man before, but she did admit that it was hot. Especially having his fingers there with hers guiding the way. It was incredible. It felt dirty, sexy and oh so right.

Melinda jumped awake, forgetting where she was for a moment. She needed to lie down somewhere. Coming to the Manor was a bad idea, but it was the only place to put her car. Just where could she have that nap? Dean was using her old room...

Her mind wandered to the wayward hunter again. What was that man doing to her? She wasn't like this. She could sleep with a guy and then just forget about him. Emotions didn't come into it, not since she promised herself that she wouldn't let anyone in again just to get hurt. Never would she say much about herself, and she'd never take him back to hers. It was always his, so she could do the leaving in the middle of the night. She'd broken her own rules. The rules she set up when she decided that she just didn't care anymore. That this was the life she was going to lead from now on.

Screw the demons.

Screw her family.

_Screw the whole God-damned world!_

But then Dean came back into her life. With his three months left to live, also thinking screw the world. They made a sorry pair, but a good drinking team. _That's what it was_, Melinda told herself. They just made a good drinking and an excellent sex team.

* * *

><p>"So you think you've found who owns my contract?" Dean questioned, feeling much better now that he'd showed and had changed into his usual jeans and t-shirt. The suit trousers always made him feel somewhat icky. Smarmy maybe. He hated the day that Sam told him they needed to look like the real FBI.<p>

"Possibly," Riley nodded with a smile. He'd never told Dean what the demons in the bar had told him. Dean was way too far gone with the alcohol by the time Riley had finished chatting to the different demons, "There's no guarantee that will do anything but..."

"It's better than we've had in the past," Sam looked at Dean, with hope in his eyes, "Right, Dean?"

Dean sighed. He refused to get his hopes up about this, but he could see how much this meant to his brother. He threw his brother a lop-sided smile and nodded his head, "Yeah, that's great, Sammy. It's definitely a better lead than we've had so far."

"So, where do we go from here?" Sam now asked, looking between Wyatt and Riley. They seemed to be happy with taking charge of this.

"We need to wait to hear from others," Wyatt admitted with a sigh, "Paige is the one who has dealt with souls and contracts before, not me. She'll have a better idea on how to handle all this from here."

"What about Dana?" Pru asked, "Has she heard anything from _Them_?"

"You know what _They're _like, Pru." Riley laughed.

"This the Elders?" Dean asked, not missing the venom in Pru's voice when she said "them." He was never expecting the Elders to help. From what he'd heard about Them, they were useless when it came to helping the Halliwells anyway. They weren't going to help a Winchester who had gotten himself in this mess.

He was glad he didn't get his hopes up when Wyatt nodded. Dean laughed humorlessly with a slow head.

"I promise you, Dean. We will save you." Wyatt finally said, before they split up for the day. Pru and Riley had work, and Sam was going to look through The Book of Shadows again. Dean wondered whether his brother was copying some information down for once they leave the Halliwells behind. There was too much in that book to memorize, but it was all valuable information.

It left Wyatt and Dean alone in the dining room.

"So, where did you go last night?" Wyatt broke the silence, and Dean knew that he didn't believe the story of going to some random chick's house. But Dean was going to continue it. Two people were already lying for him.

"I told you, Wyatt."

"Why would you go drinking with my sister, though?" Wyatt frowned, "You know that it's caused so many problems."

"Because your sister and I handle our problems in very similar ways," Dean answered honestly, "And I figured I'd get her talking if she was a little inebriated."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, actually," Dean nodded, "I think so, anyway. Look, I promised your dad that I would help her while you help me. Even if you don't find me a way out of this deal, I'm going to get your sister back on track."

He didn't need to say "it'll be the last thing I do." Wyatt knew that his friend was determined to help Melinda. That's what Dean did—save people from their demons. It was just a shame he could never save himself from his own demons.

**Ooo, will Wyatt ever find out the truth? Does he really believe that Dean and Melinda didn't sleep together? All that is to come and more. Remember to R&R to let me know what you think. I really do appreciate it!**


	9. Chapter 9

**RHatch89: Thanks for the review. Really glad you enjoyed the last update.**

**Can you believe that this is the mid-way point for this story? Yup, there are 18 chapters in total! It's all ready to be uploaded, and I've already finished the sequel. Once I get on a role, I go with it.**

**So, with it being at the half-way point, it's time to really get into the nitty gritty of this story. I hope you enjoy what's to come for the characters...**

Chapter 9

"I can't believe you would just do that, Dean," Sam shouted at his brother in the attic of the Halliwell Manor, "You went out, got drunk with Mel and then left her to sleep with some other girl? Do you seriously think that little of yourself?"

"I made sure Mel got home," Dean shouted, and it wasn't a lie. What he didn't say was that he made sure he got to her home, too, "She was in her bed."

Sam shook his head, "We're trying to save you, Dean."

"And I'm trying to help Mel, Sammy," Dean argued back, "I can't do anything with this deal. If I do, you die. I get out of it, you die. I can't have you die on me again. And if you're so set on saving me that you're keeping me here for the next three months, then I'm going to do something useful."

Dean made a promise to himself that he was going to save people and make his life mean something. If he couldn't save them from physical demons, he was going to save them from the mental ones. Melinda qualified for that, and he was determined to make sure she was on the path of healing rather than destruction by the time he left the Earth.

"You're not going to need to do that, Dean," Sam argued with his brother, "I told you, we'll save you. Riley knows who holds your contract."

"Thinks, Sammy, thinks he knows," Dean pointed out, "And demons lie."

"So, that's it? You've completely given up?"

"I gave up months ago, Sammy," Dean shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing good happens in my life. You were the only good thing I had going, and I lost you. I'm not losing you again. You can keep trying to save me, Sammy, but it will be in vain. Now I'm going to go out there and have some fun. You can stay cooped up with this book. I suggest you copy a few of the details, though, for when you're on the road yourself. I don't really want you on the road, but I guess you're not going to stay anywhere."

With that Dean walked out of the room. He had one destination in mind.

"Your brother is onto us," Dean sighed, making Melinda snap her eyes awake again. She'd fallen asleep under the car again. Dean had rolled back under the car to help her, and laughed when he realized what had happened, "I'm just that good, sweetheart."

"Yeah, whatever, cowboy." Melinda rolled her eyes and rolled out from under the car. Dean waited for a moment until he heard her drinking one of the beers that he'd brought into the garage with him. He knew she'd be out of the first one—or second, maybe.

"You've not done much under here." Dean laughed and then looked up to see Melinda looking down at him through the engine. She had the beer in one hand with her lips wrapped around the rim. Dean couldn't help but imagine them around something else. He quickly felt himself getting harder and switched his thoughts to something else.

"I'm bored," Melinda suddenly said, taking her weight off the car and walking away from him, "Let's go somewhere."

"And where would the young Miss Halliwell like to go?" Dean asked, rolling out from under the car and sitting up, "I don't think we'll find that bar by ourselves."

"Nah, we won't," Melinda shook her head with a sigh, "The door moves all the time and neither of us have demon blood."

She looked deep in thought, as she took another sip of her beer. Dean decided to let her think about somewhere to go while he grabbed his own beer, drinking almost half of it in one go. He loved the cool, refreshing taste when he was around cars. There was just something about beer and motor oil.

"How about somewhere private?" Melinda suggested, "Away from my brothers and everyone else here. I can even set the place up to keep us undetectable and out of orbing way."

"How?" Dean frowned.

"Magic," Melinda grinned, "How do you think I get away with drinking at P3, so much? That backroom is always protected from snooping."

Dean smiled, impressed at her abilities to shield herself from prying eyes. It certainly seemed like an awesome idea.

"My apartment is the same," Melinda shrugged, "But there's no Jack there. And that's so much better than beer."

"I'll give you that one," Dean smiled and pulled out the keys to his Impala. He pointed towards the closed garage door, "Get the door and we'll go."

Neither of them needed much convincing. They were soon in the Impala and heading towards P3. Melinda didn't waste much time either. As soon as they were away from the house, she placed her hand on Dean's thigh, rubbing it.

"You do that, and I'll end up crashing this car," Dean warned her, as her hand moved higher. He needed to keep his eyes open and on the road, "Melinda..."

"Oh, c'mon, Dean," Melinda pouted at him, rubbing her hand on his hardening cock, "Wouldn't you like a blow job while you drive."

Dean raised his eyebrows, with a surprised smile. He didn't get to answer, as Melinda unfastened his jeans and pulled them and his boxers down enough to get access. He couldn't help but sigh with pleasure as her warm mouth enveloped him. It felt so good that his right hand instinctively went to her head and played with her hair. His head leaned back, and he could barely keep his eyes on the road.

Melinda's head bobbed up and down. He could feel himself getting closer as she kept licking and sucking. And then suddenly she stopped.

"Oh, c'mon."

Melinda sat up and smirked at Dean. He could tell that she had a plan going on in that beautiful mind of hers. She was making him desperate for her, and God was it working.

As soon as Dean pulled into the empty P3 parking lot, Melinda felt a hand around her wrist. Dean wasn't letting her out of the car just yet. He hadn't put himself away yet, and Melinda was in two minds whether it was a good thing that she chosen against one of her denim skirts today. She considered one to drive him crazy, but knew that they wouldn't work when under the car. If she had have worn one, Dean would have easily slipped straight into her there and then.

But no. Instead, he kissed her hard and deep, pulling her closer to him, "Get your ass into that back room and get these shorts off." He ordered her, and the gravel in his voice certainly turned her on.

Dean rearranged himself and fastened his jeans before getting out of the car. He was hard against the material, but knew it would be rectified soon. Glancing around in case he was being watched by someone, Dean followed Melinda into P3 and towards the backroom. She stopped off at the bar to grab a bottle of Jack and a bottle of tequila. She was really planning on getting drunk today, and strangely it really didn't bother Dean.

As soon as they were in the backroom, Melinda closed and locked the door. She whispered something under her breath, which Dean guessed was a spell to block everything. They were secluded, safe, and more importantly happy with each other.

"So, which one first?" Melinda held up the two bottles, but Dean just took them both off her and threw them on the couch in the room. He then grabbed her and pinned her against the filing cabinet.

"I told you to get these shorts off." Dean warned her, as his fingers worked on the buttons to them instead. They kissed each other passionately, and Melinda ran her fingers through Dean's hair. Dean groaned into her mouth, and switched the shorts for her t-shirt, pulling it up over her head. This time she was wearing a bra, but that was light work and off in two seconds.

Meanwhile, Melinda moved her hands to pull at the hem of Dean's t-shirt, pulling it up and over his head. Dean pushed himself closer to Melinda, and she had the odd sensation of the cold filing cabinet on one side and his hot body on the other.

She pushed him off her and then finished the work on her short bottoms, taking them off. Dean smirked and followed suit. Soon, both were standing naked, just looking each other up and down. Dean pulled Melinda close to him again, grabbing her head with one hand and kissing her passionately. Melinda groaned as his hands pulled at her head, forcing her head back. He was after her ear and her neck, those spots that would have her craving him more.

He then turned them both around to perch her against the desk. Melinda sat on top of it and wrapped her legs around Dean. He was in her before she could even think about it, and it was the best sensation in the world. Dean kept hold of her head, as she leaned back a little giving him a better view of her body.

After the torture in the car, Dean wasn't going to last long right now. In fact, he wasn't even going to last long enough to Mel to come first. He came hard and fast inside the brunette witch on the desk and leaned forward onto her.

"I'm sorry." Dean clenched his eyes, as the waves of pleasure died down.

"Don't be," Mel laughed, "We have all day, baby."

Dean looked up at Mel, and saw a twinkle in her eye. He knew that she wasn't pissed and she was right. They certainly did have all day, and a lot of alcohol.

* * *

><p>"So, <em>They're<em> not saying anything?" Chris sighed, looking at Dana with anger in his eyes. Dana had this apologetic look in her eyes, as she shook her head. He didn't know why he was getting mad with her. He was just frustrated yet again with those damned Elders. His mother had always hated them, and that hatred had passed to him. For once, why couldn't they just tell them what needed to be done or who could help.

"They said it wasn't up to Them," Dana sighed, not emphasising what she called them as the Halliwells always did, "I guess there's someone else pulling some strings here."

"So, we need to find out who." Chris nodded. There was one great thing about having a whitelighter who had been doing her job for over 300 years. She knew how to read between the lines when the Elders spoke.

"Riley found out who may hold Dean's contract," Dana offered a suggestion and then looked up with a sigh, "I'm sorry, there's a charge."

"Go, it's fine," Chris smiled, charges always came first and he respected that. He respected her and the work she did. It was like she knew that innocents always came first for him, and right now Dean was the innocent he needed to save from the Gates of Hell, "I'll talk to Wyatt and Riley about this."

Dana kissed her boyfriend gently and lovingly before orbing out of the office. Chris wanted to orb to his brother, but knew he had to leave the normal way. If only people weren't in work today or hadn't seen him come in. He walked out of the office and through the restaurant. P4 was the restaurant that Piper finally got after years of wanting. P3 had made an amazing profit, and she was able to invest in more. Of course, it had to be called P4, now that she knew there were four Charmed sisters.

"I'll be out for the rest of the day, Shell," Chris said to the bar manager as he was leaving, "If you need anything, just give me a call, okay?"

"Sure thing, Chris," Shell grinned back from behind the bar, "Enjoy your day."

If only Chris could go out and do something fun. He always left to deal with some sort of magical problem. Usually it was some random demon attacking an innocent, but this time was very different. They were on a tight deadline, with very little information. Chris needed to save his brother's friend.

As he got into his car, Chris keyed in the number for the Manor and made sure it was all on speaker phone. He'd catch up with everything while on the drive.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Wy, it's me," Chris spoke out, refusing to take his eyes off the road as he drove through the streets of San Francisco, "I'm just leaving the restaurant now."

"Oh hey, Chris," Wyatt sounded, "Hang on, I'm putting you on speaker." Wyatt pressed a button and now Chris could hear the telltale sounds of echoing that told him he really was on speaker phone.

"Who's about?"

"Me, of course," Wyatt chuckled, "B and Sam."

"What about Dean?"

"With Mel, somewhere," Wyatt sighed, "He's trying to help her deal with her problems while we deal with his."

"And he's an ass." Sam's voice called out in the background making Chris smile. He had a feeling that Dean was dealing with this problem in his own way. Chris and Wyatt had had the chance to discuss things with Sam last night. It turned out that Dean said he couldn't get out of this deal. If he did, Sam would die. Chris wasn't going to let that happen. They had to find a way to save both the Winchester brothers. They were needed in this world.

"So, I spoke to Dana," Chris now filled the silence, sharing his information first, "She says the Elders have nothing—surprise, surprise—but she thinks there's someone else who knows something. Someone higher up."

"Reading between the lines again?" Wyatt asked.

"That's my girl." Chris replied with a smug smile and proud tone to his voice.

"Riley thinks he's found out who holds the contract." Bianca's voice now spoke out. Chris couldn't believe that she was agreeing to help a man she'd never met. He understood why Dana would. She was a whitelighter and her job was to save people. Bianca may have been a nurse, but Phoenixes didn't necessarily do things to help people without being paid. Of course, he had to remember that Bianca had left her family and those dark times behind. She was Wyatt's wife now, but also eight months pregnant.

"We got a name?"

"Crowley," Bianca replied, "Also known as the big boss of Crossroad Demons."

"Of course," Chris sighed, "He just had to be. Well, I won't be long. We'll hash out a plan of attack when I get there, okay?"

"Sounds good, bro," Wyatt said, and Chris could picture the grin, "See you soon."

With that, the two brothers hung up their phones and Chris continued driving back home. A plan was formulating in his head on the way.

* * *

><p>Dean sat in the desk chair, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He couldn't help but watch Melinda as she slept on the couch, but it wasn't a peaceful sleep. Her dreams where haunting her, and it made Dean's heart break. He just wanted to help the poor girl.<p>

He got why she was drinking so much. The more you drink, the harder it is to dream. It can almost feel refreshing to be in that regular alcoholic haze. He chuckled to himself as he down his own alcohol, feeling the good burn as he swallowed.

It was so much better than the tequila. He hated the stuff, but it did taste better licking it off Melinda's tanned skin. Suddenly he felt nature calling, and stood up and got dressed.

Melinda moaned and then shivered in her sleep. Frowning, he looked around for something to place over her. There was a blanket over the back of the couch. Perfect. Making sure she was covered, he walked out of the backroom and into the main part of the club.

It was quiet, eerily quiet. The last time somewhere was this quiet was at the Roadhouse. He smiled as he thought back to the friendship he had with Ellen and Jo there. All that came crashing down when he almost got Jo killed because she wanted to come on a hunt with him. The son-of-a-bitch ghost had taken her, and it brought back awful memories for her mother. Ellen got there as soon as possible, and it was only then that they all found out why she resented John Winchester. He had gotten her husband killed. Dean had agreed from then on that he would never bring someone else onto a hunt with him, except Sammy. He didn't really want Sammy, but he just didn't want to be alone. At least with Sam there he could protect him. It didn't do much good, of course. Jo had gone out hunting anyway and was nearly killed by a Meg-possessed Sam.

Dean did his business thinking back over the last year and then left the men's restroom.

"You know, if you want to hide all this from Wyatt you really need to find a better place."

Dean frowned, looking around. He then saw Riley sitting in a booth with a bottle of beer.

"Mel okay with you taking that?" Dean asked, sitting at the booth and then saw a full beer right in front of him.

"She'll just think she drank them both one night," Riley pointed out, "It's one thing about owning the club, although I'm sure glad I'm not her accountant."

Dean shook his head and took a swig from the beer. The whiskey and tequila had already gone to his head, maybe this wasn't a good idea. He was going to end up passing out tonight.

"Anyway, you need to find somewhere else to sleep with her," Riley pointed out again, "That backroom will be the first place Wyatt checks."

"Who said I'm sleeping with Melinda? I told you all..."

"One, I saw you two all over each other as I was leaving. You were just too busy to notice me," Riley pointed out with a smirk, "Two, Pru can't keep a secret from me. She said she walked in on you both this morning. She thought you were a demon. You're lucky you weren't killed by her."

"Well, it would just send me to Hell that little bit sooner," Dean shrugged, "I guess I deserve it after the last—not even 24 hours."

"Nah, Wyatt would get over it," Riley shrugged his shoulder, "He got over me sleeping with her."

"You slept with Melinda?" Dean frowned, "I thought you were with Pru."

"Mel isn't the sweet innocent toddler you once knew, Dean," Riley laughed at his friend, "She probably has experience that puts yours to the test."

Dean raises his eyebrows glancing back towards the backroom. He'd never imagine her just randomly picking up guys in a bar. Not the way he did it. Sure, she took him home last night, but they knew each other. They had some sort of history...

"She was 16 when she slept with me," Riley pointed out, "Just to give you an idea of when she started."

"She lost her virginity to you?"

"So she says," the half-demon replied with a shrug, "I'm not sure if she was telling the truth. I guess she didn't want big brothers to find out how bad she could be. She was lashing out at the world then. There was a period when she calmed down. It was during college. She got a boyfriend and it seemed like she was going to settle down with him."

"What happened?"

"He was killed by a demon," Riley said with a sad tone to his voice, "Mel was devastated and then just a few weeks later her mom was killed. Mel hasn't been the same since."

"I'm not surprised." Dean sighed, looking down at the beer bottle. Mel's sadness was starting to mimic his own. He knew that as a witch she'd have fought demons over the years too. There were high chances she'd lost innocents, just like he'd lost people he cared about or tried to help. He thought back to the way Sammy felt after Jess' death. They all had a lot in common, and now he was going to end up leaving them all in a few months.

"What's on your mind?"

"This Hell deal," Dean answered truthfully, "And I really need something to eat."

"C'mon," Riley grinned, "Mel will sleep for a while."

As Dean stood up and got his balance, he suddenly realized what Riley had said, "How did you know she was asleep?"

"I've already checked on her," Riley grinned, "Nice touch with the blanket but it doesn't hide the fact that she's naked."

The two were about the leave the club when a couple of guys dressed in black. Dean stumbled back, as Riley pushed him back towards the booth. Dean could just watch as Riley used his super speed power to rush over to the first demon and literally rip his heart out of his chest. The demon combusted in flames, but the second demon was ready for him. The second one held an energy ball and threw it at Riley, hitting him in the shoulder blade. Riley cried out in pain, but the demon didn't bother finishing him off.

Instead the demon turned his attention to a drunk Dean.

"Crowley wants a word with you, Winchester."

Dean wasn't going to let this guy take him, and fought with all that he had. The demon just laughed and waved his hand. Dean flew across the room, hitting the bar hard. His vision blurred from the impact of the hit, and the last thing he saw was the demon walking towards him. Suddenly it all went black.

* * *

><p><strong>So what do you think? Do you like where this is going? Can they really save Dean from his Hell deal? I have a sequel, but could it be about saving Dean from Hell or something entirely different? I'll let you guys ponder that and see what you think about this chapter. More to come very soon.<strong>

**Please do review and let me know what you think. I do love hearing from you!  
><strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**RHatch89: Thanks for the feedback. Glad you enjoyed the update.**

**Gabyhyatt: So, you want them to save Dean? You never know...I'm not giving away the ending though.**

**Here's the next chapter for you to enjoy. It's another relatively short one but that doesn't mean it isn't fun to read :) I certainly had fun writing this one!**

Chapter 10

Melinda woke up to hear some sort of commotion. Where was she? What had happened? Glancing around the room, she slowly remembered. She'd come to P3 with Dean. They'd...well...she looked down at herself and confirmed that she was naked. She couldn't help smile at the idea of Dean pulling the blanket over her, though.

There was another loud bang outside. There was a fight going on. Had Wyatt turned up and found them? Her protection spells were usually enough to cloud his sensing abilities. Had he finally found a way around them after all these years?

Quickly finding her clothes, she threw them on and then knocked over the almost empty bottle of Jack. She took a quick sip to prevent the hangover from happening and then ran out of the room. Riley was in the middle of a small number of demons. He was taking most of them, but struggling and alone. She then glanced at the bar and saw a demon holding Dean up.

"Dean!" Melinda called out, running towards the demon. The black-clothed bastard just smiled evilly and then shimmered out with what looked like an unconscious Dean in tow. The other demons around Riley that he hadn't vanquished shimmered out, too. It was clear then that they had come for one person and one person only. The extra protection was just there in case Wyatt and Chris were there with Dean.

"Riley!" Melinda now ran over to her brother's best friend, checking on him.

"I'm okay, Mel," Riley smiled weakly, but she could see that wasn't the case. He was bloody and bruised. His smile wasn't right. It looked like a tooth or two had been knocked out and there was blood running down his mouth. She tried to help him stand, but he winced as she grabbed his arm. Pulling her hand away, she saw the bright red blood on it, "Energy ball. I'll be fine."

Melinda shook her head. He wasn't fine at all, just putting on a brave face for her. She could see it in his eyes that he was lying. But they needed to get out of here and back to the Manor. They needed to warn the others that Dean had been taken. She couldn't lose him, too.

It then hit her just how much Dean already meant to her. He was supposed to be a little fun, and someone to drink with. There were no feelings. That was the one thing that she could do. Unlike other women, she could separate sex from love. Sleeping with men and leaving in the middle of the night was her thing. And now she was growing attached to Dean.

Deep down she knew why. But she couldn't think about that right now. They needed to get back to the Manor.

"Can you shimmer?" Melinda asked Riley, and sighed with relief when he nodded. At least they could get back without calling for help.

Within seconds they were in the dining room of the Manor. Melinda had tried to help Riley stand, but he just collapsed under her weight. There had been too many demons for him to take on by himself. Even his super speed wasn't enough to save him.

"Riley!" Wyatt glanced over at the figures shimmering into the Manor. Right away, he knew there was trouble, and then he realized just how hurt his best friend was.

"I'll heal as much as I can," Wyatt said, rushing over and instantly putting his hands over the half-manticore. He would only be able to heal the human half. Hopefully that was enough, "What the hell happened?"

"Demons," Melinda pointed out the obvious, "They got Dean."

"What!" Sam now stood and rushed over to them, "How? Who's they?"

Now that Riley was in good hands, Melinda stood up and started pacing the floor. She didn't have a clue what had happened. She'd just seen the end of what must have been an awful fight. How much of a fight did Dean put up? He looked knocked out, and she could tell from his build and hunting past that he wouldn't have gone down easily. Not until the demons used their powers on him.

"Mel?" Wyatt called out, "Melinda!"

She stopped pacing and looked at him, "What?"

"Your powers." he said and pointed to the ceiling. The lights were flickering. She calmed down and they stopped.

"Sorry." She mumbled and then sat down at the dining table, placing her head into her hands.

"Why were the lights flickering?" Chris and Bianca asked as they made their way out of the kitchen. They were carrying food and placing it on the table, "Oh, Mel."

"They took Dean." She simply said and then groaned at the smell of the food. It didn't matter what it was, she needed something. She couldn't even remember the last time she ate. It was always a liquid breakfast, liquid lunch and liquid dinner. Not that it bothered her, but Chris' cooking was always one of her weaknesses.

"What happened?" Sam asked again.

"Demons attacked us in P3," Riley sighed, standing up but still visibly in pain. The burn on his shoulder was only partially healed, and he was missing a tooth. He felt like he'd broken a rib, but it was all part and parcel of being a demon, "They came for Dean."

"Who did?" Wyatt frowned, helping his friend sit down.

"I don't know, Wyatt. I was too busy trying to save my own hide. There were too many of them," Riley sighed and then thought back to it, "I think one of them said Crowley was after him."

"Crowley?" Sam questioned, "But he holds Dean's contract. There's still three months left."

As the boys argued about what they were going to do and how they needed to save Dean, Melinda stormed out and into the kitchen. She couldn't stand this. They were too busy arguing and Dean was somewhere, trapped and in pain. They needed to save him now!

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, she started pacing. She hadn't opened it, and she suddenly decided that she wasn't going to. She needed to go and save Dean, and she needed to sober up before it happened.

"What the hell were you doing in P3 with Dean?" Wyatt shouted as he walked into the kitchen, "Oh, for God's sake, Mel. Will you please stop drinking and deal with this like everyone else does?"

Wyatt took the bottle out of her hands and placed it on the counter. Melinda had a look of anger and hate in her eyes.

"For your information I wasn't going to drink it," Melinda argued back, "We need to save, Dean."

"Are you sleeping with him?" Wyatt asked, "I swear to God, if he laid one hand on you..."

"No, Wyatt," Melinda lied convincingly, "We went to P3 to drink. I needed to get out of here, and I convinced Dean to take me there."

"Drinking, again," Wyatt rolled his eyes, "You know he's on a path of destruction because of his Hell deal. It may not matter to him if he destroys his liver, but..."

"I can handle more than you think, Wyatt," Melinda shouted, "And besides, we also talk."

"What? You talk to him but not to me? He's not even been here 48 hours yet and you're opening up to him?" Wyatt hated that his sister was happy to talk to an almost stranger over him. Is this what she'd been doing this whole time while drinking elsewhere? If so, it wasn't working, "Why him and not me?"

Melinda shook her head. She did not want to get into this conversation with her brother. She had to get away; needed to find a way to save Dean. Standing around talking wasn't going to help. Fling her arms in the air, she walked towards the kitchen door. Wyatt grabbed one of her arms, turning her to face him.

"Why him and not me, Mel? I'm your brother."

"I don't want to talk, Wyatt."

Melinda tried to fight out of her brother's grasp, but he wanted—more like needed—to get to the bottom of this. He needed to understand the reason for her drinking for the last year. She was on a slippery slope, and he was out of options.

"Mel, please."

Melinda shook her head, but then saw the hurt in her brother's brown eyes. Her face softened and she sighed.

"He listens."

"What?" Wyatt frowned, "I would listen…"

"He also gets it. He gets everything," Melinda cut her brother off, "He's lived through all this and gotten out on the other side."

"I wouldn't really say he's out on the other side, yet," Wyatt pointed out, "But I'm going through it too. You could have talked to me."

"All you wanted to do was stop me from drinking more. You tried to stop my path of destruction," Melinda sighed, "Dean didn't."

"No, Dean encouraged you to drink more."

"He was just keeping up with me," Melinda shook her head, "There was no encouragement needed." Melinda took her arm out of Wyatt's grasp, as she continued to explain her reasoning for leaning on Dean. As she began to really peace together why she felt so much for that stranded, troubled Winchester boy.

"I could work on the Mustang with him, and he didn't ask a thing. He may have wanted to know, but he waited for me to feel comfortable with him. And he made it so easy to feel comfortable, because he just got on with fixing my brake line. Then when we went to the bar, he opened up first. He told me something that was haunting him deep down. That was the minute I realized he got it; everything.

"He doesn't know everything, but it just all feels natural with him. He likes to have a drink and have fun. And that's what I need right now, Wyatt."

"But I could have helped you, Mel." Wyatt pleaded, although silently thankful that she had finally found someone to talk to. He wasn't sure whether it was really helping, though.

"No I couldn't, and you know that," Mel shook her head, "You, Chris, everyone here was grieving. I needed someone who didn't know this family or at least wasn't close to this family. Besides, you were constantly berating me for my drinking. You all do it. Why would I talk to you when you do that?"

Wyatt now realized that he had gone about looking out for his sister the wrong way. She was right. She was dealing with her grief the only way she knew how, and he had constantly shouted at her for it. The doctor in him made it impossible to forget just how much damage she was doing to herself. He couldn't look past that.

"Okay, well how about from now you come to me?"

"We need to save Dean." Melinda pointed out and then walked out of the kitchen.

Dean. Right. Wyatt was still certain there was something else between him and Melinda, but for now it would be forgotten. They did need to save his best friend, before his deal was finished before it came due.

Wyatt opened the door to a very quiet dining room. It took him a while to realize that they were all staring at someone, and he frowned when he looked over in the direction they were looking.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Not going to introduce me, Sam? The name's Ruby."

**I just had to bring Ruby into it. After all, this is set during season three and she did show up right at the start. I'm still not 100% when this happens in season three, but Ruby and the Winchesters have gotten to know each other a little and she has helped fix the Colt.**

**Did you like the update? Please do leave some feedback to let me know :) I'll be back with the next chapter very soon...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello again! I'm back with chapter 11!**

**This is actually the shortest chapter of the lot. I'm sorry about that, but I just had to end it where it was. It goes into Mel's past a little more. I know there have been the odd mentions of it here and there, but now's the chance to find out why she has drank so much. And of course, there's a bit of Dean in the episode to find out what happened to him!  
><strong>

**I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 11

Dean opened his eyes but it wasn't easy. His head was pounding and his whole body ached. What the hell had happened?

There wasn't much light in the room, which he was happy about. It meant nothing bright to make the light worse. But he soon realized that he shouldn't be happy. As he tried to move his arms to reach his sore head—especially the back—he realized his arms were tied above him. How had he not realized that before now?

Looking up, the chains went up to the ceiling of some sort of cave. He was kneeling uncomfortable, and he soon remembered his dad talking to him about some sort of stress position. It was to stop people from sleeping for too long—if at all—because the muscles were constantly working.

"It looks like the princess is awake." An unknown voice said from somewhere in the room. It was a British man, and Dean instantly knew that this was a demon. Something just rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was the chains.

A man dressed in a smart black suit stepped out from the shadows. He wasn't what Dean expected. Shorter than most demons, and a little chubby. However, he had a confidence that no others had. It was like he ran the place.

"What do you want, you son of a bitch."

"Now, now, now, Squirrel," the man said, "First things first. The name's Crowley."

Dean's facial expression momentarily changed as he heard the name. That was the demon that held his contract, wasn't it? The demon that owned his soul and would bring it to Hell. The recognition didn't stay there long, but it was long enough for Crowley.

"A little bird told me you Winchesters knew about me. Those damned Halliwells can't help themselves but go digging. I had to do something."

"You can't kill me," Dean warned with a smug smile, "My contract still has three months."

"That may be so," Crowley nodded, crouching down to look Dean in the eyes, "But someone else could kill you. As soon as you're dead, your soul will be coming with me."

Dean's smug smile soon disappeared and he glared back at Crowley. He would have to find a way out of this. He was looking forward to these last three months. No, he needed to have these three months. He had a promise to keep.

"Besides, you being here will mean what's left of the damned Charmed Ones will stop looking for me," Crowley continued, standing up and walking around in front of Dean. The whole thing was making him dizzy, "They'll be so busy looking for you—and not finding you of course—that your three months will be gone before they know it. You won't get out of your deal, Dean Winchester."

All Dean could do was glare at the thing that had his contract. If only he could get out of these chains and kill him.

"By the way, it is good to see you in chains, too."

"You kinky son of a bitch," Dean retorted, going back to his usual Winchester sarcasm, "I don't swing that way."

* * *

><p>"What are you doing here, Ruby?" Sam asked, standing from the dining table and walking over to the blonde-haired demon. She had appeared in front of them just as Melinda had come back from the kitchen, surprising everyone. Sam hadn't expected her to show up into a room full of witches, but it looked like he was wrong.<p>

"You should be hunting, Sam," Ruby refused to answer his question, "You need to get ready."

"I'm going to save my brother."

"Hasn't he told you yet?" Ruby shook her head with a humorless laugh, "There is no saving him, Sam. He's going to be gone soon, and it will be left up to you. It's about time you just accept that," She then turned to the others in the room, "And he definitely shouldn't have gotten you involved. Lilith isn't going to like that."

"Who's Lilith?" Chris now asked, standing and walking towards the demon.

"The demon that holds Dean's contract." Ruby sighed, facing against the witch.

"No, Crowley holds Dean's contract." Chris now argued back, and he saw something in Ruby's eyes. Was that guilt that she'd been caught out lying? It was like he could see the cogs turning inside her head.

"Crowley? How would he have it when Lilith is his boss?" Ruby now asked, seemingly finding the path that she would take with this lie.

"Ruby, what are you hiding from us?" Sam now asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Maybe Dean was right in not trusting her. He didn't know that Lilith apparently held the contract, but he damn knew who she was. He still hadn't forgiven Dean for his part in Agent Hendricksson's and the virgin's deaths.

Without answering, Ruby disappeared from everyone's view.

"Who was she?" Wyatt asked, and all eyes were on Sam. It was about time to come clean. He needed to tell them all about the demon that promised to save his brother eight months ago.

While everyone else talked about Ruby, Melinda decided to slip out of the room. She didn't want to hear any more about Dean's deal and working with all sorts of creatures to find a loophole. She needed to focus on finding where he was. The problem was she didn't have anything that would help her find him by scrying.

She made her way up to the attic, making an excuse that she was going to the bathroom. While in there, she looked around. It had been almost a year since she had been up here. Just before her mom's death, Ben had died. He was amazing, sweet, and all-round perfect guy. The best thing was, he was non-magical. Well, Melinda thought that was the best thing. It turned out that it was the worst thing.

Because he knew nothing about magic, he didn't know how to protect himself when a demon attacked them at Melinda's apartment. Ben believed it was a home invasion, and went to protect his girlfriend. The demon made light work of snapping Ben's neck, and there was nothing Melinda could do. After vanquishing the demon, she vowed that she would never fall in love again. She would never let someone—especially someone who didn't know anything about magic—into her life.

She did try to bring him back, though. She tried everything she could in the book for three months. For two of those months, Piper had tried to talk her out of it. But Melinda was slipping further and further away at this point. She'd started drinking to numb the pain, and that was working. It also dulled Piper's voice as she shouted at her more and more.

That was the night that Piper died. Melinda looked over at the spot in the attic that it had happened, before making her way to the Book of Shadows. After the three months of trying, Mel gave up and decided magic had failed her. She just hoped that it wasn't going to fail her now.

**Is Ruby hiding something or are demons not telling her everything? You may have noticed that I decided this is set after Jus in Bello from the mention of Agent Hendrickson's death.**

**So, what did you think of the episode. Please do leave some feedback to let me know :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Helloooooo! Thank you again for your reviews.**

**I'm a little later than I expected with this update. I didn't manage to get online at all yesterday, so sharing it today instead. I can't believe how close to the end of this story I'm getting. My muse is going crazy with future stories for this universe, and I'm writing things down as I get them. I love it! I just hope you love it too!**

**Well, without any further delay, here's the chapter!**

Chapter 12

Chris sighed with a sad smile as he looked in on his little sister. She had taken to her old room, and was looking through every book possible that the family had brought back from Magic School; desperate to save Dean. It was late, though, and she'd fallen asleep with books, notepads and scrap pieces of paper all around her.

It had been three weeks since Dean had been taken. They were running out of ideas, and still had no trace of him. Riley's checks with the demon bar had come up with nothing, and their magic wasn't getting through whatever magic whoever was holding Dean was using. Sam was going stir-crazy not knowing where his big brother was, with just over two months left on his contract.

By now, Bobby had driven from Sioux Falls to help them research, but had decided that his home had more books. He went back, but kept checking in on them.

Chris walked into the room and saw that she was holding onto a T-shirt. It was one of Dean's T-shirts. She really cared about him.

He hated admitting it but losing Dean was actually good for Melinda. She hadn't drank anywhere near as much in the last three weeks as she used to do. She'd have the odd beer while working on her car—and that was only when she was getting frustrated with the books and lack of information. If she wasn't working on the car, she'd take her frustrations out on the punching bag in the basement. She was ready for whatever demon to show up.

Chris closed a few of the books and then pulled a blanket over his baby sister. He then started to walk out of the room.

"Chris?" A small voice called out from behind. He stopped at the door, mentally kicking himself for waking her.

"Go back to sleep, Mel," He said, "You're no use to us tired."

"We'll get him back, right?"

Chris now turned to face her and paced over to her, "Of course we will. I can't see you, Sam or Wyatt giving up easily. There's still two months…"

"It's not long enough," Melinda sighed, "We're spending so much time looking for him that we're not finding him a way out of the deal."

Suddenly, a light bulb when on in her head. She looked at Chris with wide green eyes, sitting up sharply.

"What is it?"

"Oh my God! How could we miss that?" Melinda asked, throwing the blanket off her and rushing out of the room. All Chris could do was follow and find out what his sister was talking about.

Melinda made it to the bottom of the stairs, calling for everyone to meet her in the living room. She was calling out for various family members who would be able to teleport here, asking them to bring other family members who couldn't. Soon enough, everyone was in the now-crowded living room. And Chris noted every single person who could help was there.

"It's almost midnight, Mel," Hen complained, making it clear that he—and likely Kaley who would have been home with the kids—wasn't happy with this, "What are we doing here?"

"We've been going about this all wrong," she said, looking at each and every one of them, "We shouldn't be looking for Dean."

"But you were the one that wanted us…" Wyatt started but Melinda put her hand up to get him to stop talking. Now that she wasn't in the alcohol-haze or the hangover and withdrawal stages, she could think clearly. She couldn't believe nobody had thought about this sooner, especially Sam. But then, he was just so concerned about his brother only having two months left.

"Dean has two months left on his contract," she started, which everyone had to agree on, "There's no way Crowley would be able to kill him yet. If he did, the contract would be void and Dean couldn't go to Hell."

As everyone worked their minds around that, Melinda continued with the fact that Crowley wanted them to look for Dean. If they were looking for Dean, they'd stop looking for a way to save him. That was exactly what they'd done, too. They didn't know anything more than Crowley being the one to hold the contract. Now they were just looking for where Crowley could have taken Dean. Even if they found him, they'd still need to find that loophole.

It was time to get back to the drawing board and do the thing that Sam had asked from the beginning, when the Winchesters showed up on their doorstep three weeks ago. It was time to save Dean from Hell.

"But we'd still need to know where he is." Sam argued, not wanting to leave his brother somewhere to rot. He may not be dead, but he wouldn't be in one piece, Sam was sure of it.

"And a small team can work on finding Dean," Melinda nodded, "Lead it if you want. But I need people working with me. We're going to find out more about this Goddamn deal."

* * *

><p><em>Thump!<em>

_Smack!_

Dean groan at that last one. When would it be over?

The torture was getting worse. He just wanted to die already. Maybe he had, and this was Hell. Constantly reliving this torture. He had no idea how long he'd been chained up, but it had to have been a few weeks by now. His deal must be up soon, and he had to admit that it couldn't come sooner.

Some days he thought they were going to kill him. They would beat him until he passed out, wake him up and then beat him some more. Other days they'd leave him, but he'd always wonder whether they were coming for him. Every sound on the locked metal door made his eyes pop up. He was waiting for someone to come in and start it all over again.

Now, there were bruises over bruises, cuts opening old ones and bones breaking in the same places. It was excruciating and there was nothing that he could do to stop it all. At least with most torture, answering questions was the way to get it to stop. No, Dean just had to endure it from all the demons that he'd either help send back to Hell or creatures that he'd hunted in the past.

The beatings stopped and the demons walked out of the room. Dean swallowed, but his throat burned. He was dehydrated, but only enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Crowley had ordered that he was to stay alive until the Hellhounds got it. They were bringing him enough food and water to keep him breathing. Dean had tried to spit it out or not take it, to make death come sooner, but the demons made sure that he got the minimal amount his body would need.

Now that he was alone, he let his mind think back to Sam. He missed his pain-in-the-ass little brother, and wondered what he was up to. Every now and then, he would picture Sam running in through the door to save him. Other times it was Wyatt and on the odd occasion Melinda would come.

A smile passed Dean's lips, but not for long. He soon moaned in pain. His jaw felt broken from that last round. Great!

Back to Melinda. Dean had to think of something rather than the pain he was in. Everything hurt and it would break him if he kept thinking about it. So, he thought about Melinda. Her soft hands, beautiful green eyes and long brown hair. He imagined grabbing her from behind and pictured the two times that he'd been with her. That first night he'd encouraged her to try something new, but the second time was her turn to get him to do something a little different. And it was awesome!

But did their time together even mean anything? Maybe it was better if it didn't. Dean didn't want to leave her heartbroken. She was struggling to deal with everything already.

The sound of the metal door opening made him break away from his thoughts. He knew he wouldn't be alone for long. They always let him out of the chains when they left him for a few hours. But they never let him leave this room. They hadn't for days, weeks...hell it could have even been a couple of months for all he knew. There was not sunlight coming through here. Most of the time it was pitch black.

"You know this is just a snippet of what you will get when you come to Hell."

Dean snarled at the sound of the voice, but then winced. His jaw had to be broken. It was Crowley again. What was that demon bastard going to do to him now?

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch."

"Still talking tough," Crowley pointed out, "I'm impressed. You've been here almost a month now, Squirrel."

_That's how long it's been?_ Dean thought to himself, a little shocked at the idea. He knew he had no idea, but was it really taking Wyatt and Sam that long to find him. Wait! He didn't want them to be looking for him. He really wanted them to be moving on with their lives. They needed to. He had two months left on his contract.

"But you won't kill me," Crowley pointed out, "Soon, I'll be your King."

Dean frowned as he looked up.

"That's right, I'm running for the King of Hell. Well I say running. I'm going to kill the current king. It won't be that hard once I bring a Winchester to Hell with me."

"That's what all this is about? Getting a Winchester to Hell?" Dean asked. It had been the most he'd gotten out of Crowley for the last month. Granted, he wasn't exactly in a position to fight back in these chains. The first few days he'd tried everything to get out of them. When he was allowed out, he searched for some way of getting a message to Wyatt or Sam, but there was nothing. After a few days, he waited for one of the demons to let his guard down around him. One once did, but he soon realized that he wasn't getting anywhere.

After a while, Dean had learned to not fight. After that one incident, all the demons were on watch. They weren't willing to let their guard down, even when Dean was in chains.

"You know they're looking for you up there," Crowley smirked. A flash of hope crossed Dean's eyes, and Crowley started laughing, "They won't find you, though. And by the time they do..."

"It'll be too late to save me from Hell," Dean snarled, "I gotcha. I'll kill you once I get to Hell."

"Good luck with that, Princess." Crowley laughed and then snapped his fingers. The chains released, and Dean hit the ground with a thump. He wasn't ready for the release, and pain shot up his already painful arms and into his shoulders.

Before he could even consider making a move, Crowley was gone and he was locked in the room again. All Dean Winchester could do was hope and pray that his brother would move on from all this. Let him die and go to Hell in peace.

* * *

><p>"We're running out of options, Mel," Wyatt sighed, glancing at his sister. She was standing at the Book of Shadows, looking at one page in particular, and wasn't listening to a word he was saying. He'd come up to the attic to check on her after discussing a few things with Sam. They were still searching for a way to get Dean out of his Hell deal, while Melinda looked for a way to find him, "Are you listening to me?"<p>

"I was thinking," Mel looked up and walked around the podium that held the Book. She walked up to Wyatt to look in his eyes, "Do you think Poppy could astral project to Dean?"

"Poppy? You want to get our 16-year-old cousin involved? There's no way Aunt Phoebe would let you even consider that."

Poppy was the youngest of all the Halliwell cousins, and she was the one Phoebe protected the most. Now that they were down one of the Charmed Ones, Pru had suggested that she and her sisters take up the responsibility. After all, they all had one of the three main powers in their own way and they were three sisters. Phoebe wouldn't allow it. She'd already arranged a deal with the Angel of Destiny as soon as she found out that she had a third girl. Her daughters wouldn't be able to access the Power of Three until Poppy's 18th birthday. There was 18 months or so until that.

Phoebe didn't want to get her daughters killed, especially now that demons had taken out Piper. She wanted to keep Poppy safe, since Pru and Patience were too old for her to stop them. Poppy wanted to help, but constantly found herself struggling past her mom.

"I just want to get a message to Dean and maybe he can tell Poppy's astral form where he is."

"I don't think Poppy's power works like that, though," Wyatt shook his head, "I think she has to know where she's going."

"I thought it was who she was going to."

Wyatt had to admit that he didn't know, but this did sound like the best idea that they had. The only thing he could suggest was that they talked to Poppy, but he didn't like the idea.

"We can't get Poppy involved."

"She'll be safe. It will be her astral form."

Wyatt sighed. Melinda had a point. If there was danger, Poppy could get herself out of there easily. She'd be able to come back to them without risk to her actual life. Maybe putting it that way would convince Phoebe to let Poppy come and help. That was only if Mel's idea would work.

"Wyatt! Melinda!" Chris' voice called from downstairs, making the two siblings look at each other confused. It didn't sound scared or urgent, but Chris didn't usually call for them. Making their way down the stairs to the upstairs hallway, they saw a blonde-haired demon standing in front of them. They recognized the demon as Ruby right away, but why was she here?

"What do you want?" Melinda took control of the situation. She just wanted to get back to finding Dean. She needed him. She didn't know why she felt that way, but she did and she was going with it.

"Calm it, munchkin. I'm here with some good news." Ruby rolled her eyes and then started to walk down the hallway towards the dining room. The three Halliwell siblings followed her, finding out what she was doing. "Where's Sam?"

"He's out," Wyatt answered, "What the hell's this good news?"

Ruby rolled her eyes with a sigh, turning to face the Halliwells again, "Just so you know, I don't like dealing with witches."

"You were a witch." Chris pointed out, remembering the backstory that Sam had given them about her. They hadn't seen her since that first day, but nobody could forget her.

"And your point being?" Ruby shrugged her shoulders and then looked directly at Melinda, "I've found a way to save your boy."

"What? How?"

"You need to destroy Crowley."

**What do you think so far? Will they be able to save Dean in time? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a review when you get a chance :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you again for leaving reviews. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story.**

**Here's the next chapter. There are only five chapters left after this update, and I really hope you love them as much as I've loved them.**

**For those interested, I've started working on another Supernatural/Charmed crossover idea. I know it's been done a lot before, but it's bringing Dean and Sam into the world of Prue, Piper and Phoebe finding out about their powers. I'm also bringing Adam into it. I'll share the stories that I've written when I'm comfortably into the storyline. I don't like leaving long periods between updates in stories.**

**As for this universe, I do have a sequel, as well as other ideas popping in my head. I go where my muse takes me :)**

**For now, here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 13

Melinda just rolled her eyes and walked back to the attic. Needed to destroy Crowley? Yeah, if only it was that simple. They had no idea where Crowley was or what he even looked like. This was one demon that wasn't in the Book of Shadows.

"You're just going to walk away?" Ruby called to Melinda, placing her hands on her hips, "I've just given you a way..."

"What do you think killing Crowley will do?" Melinda shrugged her shoulders, turning back to Ruby, "How do you think we can even do that. We don't know who he is."

"I don't mean Crowley the demon. I mean his human remains." Ruby now pointed out.

Wyatt and Chris looked at each other and then back at Ruby. Chris shook his head, trying to take it all in. He wasn't impressed with the initial remark about killing Crowley, but now he was interested. He was even more interested when he found out that destroying the remains of the demon would completely destroy the demon. There is no way that Crowley would want to end up dead, even if it did mean giving up Dean's soul and letting Sam live.

"Crowley has human remains?" Wyatt now asked. He had been through the whole possession thing with Sam. It turned out that they dealt with many different types of demons. The ones in the Underworld were creatures more than demons. The idea of them having human remains somewhere was a little off for him.

"Yes," Ruby nodded her head with raised eyebrows, "Just like I do. Don't look so shocked, Sugar Puff," and then she turned back to Melinda, "Threaten to burn his remains and he'll give you Deanie Boy back. Sam will be able to find out all the information you need."

With that Ruby just disappeared, leaving the three Halliwell siblings to look at each other in shock. Were they really going to be able to do that?

As soon as Sam got back from the occult store, Wyatt broke the news that they may have had a way to save his brother. He heard all about how Ruby had turned up and told him about the burning of the human remains. Now it was up to Sam to find out more about Crowley, and he knew just the person to help with that.

Of course, Bobby already knew plenty about Crowley's human life. As soon as Bobby had found out about Dean's contract being held by the bastard, he went out looking for information. He even tortured a Crossroads Demon to find out more information. Part of him felt sorry for the young girl that the demon was possessing, but he needed answers. He was willing to do anything to make sure Dean was pulled out of this deal without Sam dying at the same time.

Sam needed to find the bones of Fergus MacLeod. They were buried somewhere in Scotland, but he had no idea where. That was as far as Bobby's research had gotten them, but Bobby was on his way to San Francisco to help with the rest of it.

"We can get to Scotland," Chris frowned, "But we need to know where."

"Leave some of that to me." Riley sighed and then shimmered out. Chris didn't have to ask where his brother's best friend was going. The look on Pru's face told him that Riley was going back to the demon bar. Where else would he go to get information?

By now, almost everyone was at the Manor. It was time for Wyatt and Melinda to bring up the possibility of finding Dean through Poppy.

"You can't ask my daughter to do that, Melinda." Phoebe shook her head, "You can't ask me to let her do that."

"I wouldn't if I wasn't desperate, Phoebe," Melinda shook her head, "But I can't lose Dean. I need to know that he's safe. God, I don't even know if he's alive."

Phoebe sighed. She knew that Melinda had grown close to Dean already, and she did want to help him, but she couldn't let her youngest daughter risk getting lost God knew where. Anything could happen to her, and she couldn't lose her. Especially not now that she was the eldest of her sisters. Prue and Piper were both gone.

"Melinda, I can't..."

Melinda shook her head and walked out of the living room. She went straight to the kitchen to grab a beer and then made her way into the garage. She needed to think about all this, and the car was going to help her.

Walking into the garage made her heartbreak. The Impala was back in their garage, after Sam grabbed it from the P3 parking lot. They couldn't leave it there while they searched for Dean. Mel had made sure it was looked after for when Dean would get back to them. He'd want to know that his baby was ready to go.

Then she looked over at hers. It had been neglected a little over the last month. She hadn't worked on it as much as she wanted, but she only worked on it when she needed a break from the research and the planning. This was her stress release.

Popping the top off the bottle with her teeth, she made her way over to the car. What could she work on now?

"That will wreck your teeth, Mel." A female voice called out from the corner of the room. Melinda frowned and turned to see Poppy sitting on one of the stools, also a beer in her hand.

"You are way too young for that, Poppy," Melinda pointed out and then took a swig from her own bottle. Poppy shrugged her shoulders and finished her beer off before putting it down. The older of the Halliwells just grinned and shook her head, "I guess I don't have room to talk. I was on the whiskey at your age."

"Damn right," Poppy agreed and then joined her cousin, looking over the car, "Regretting drinking and driving yet?"

"I regret what I did to her," Melinda shrugged her shoulders, "But I don't...I'm not sure. No-one was hurt but me. There's not much to regret."

"You don't regret what you put Wyatt and Chris through? Or your dad?"

Melinda rolled her eyes and put the beer on the workbench. Without answering, she picked up her tools and started working on the engine. Poppy leaned on the Mustang and just watched Melinda.

"I heard you and my mom discussing my astral projection," Poppy broke the slightly uncomfortable silence, "I want to help."

That caught Melinda's interest and she stood up, grease already all over her hands and on her cheek, "You want to help?"

Poppy giggled at her cousin's look, but nodded her head.

"Can you even help?"

"If I concentrate on a person, I can get to them. I don't need to use their location," Poppy replied, answering Melinda's unasked question, "I will need something to help me concentrate on the person. A photo, an item of theirs, just something..."

"I can get you that," Melinda nodded and then motioned to the car, "There's always his Impala."

"I don't think I'll be able to do it with a car," Poppy screwed up her face, "Do you have a shirt or something?"

"I've got a photo of him." A male voice now called out as the door to the garage closed. The two girls looked over to see Sam walking into the room. He had two beers in his hand, and passed one to Melinda.

"Not finished the first one yet, but thanks." She smiled, picking up her first bottle and finishing it off. She grinned and then took the other from Sam. Sam just chuckled and took a swig from his own bottle, before turning to Poppy.

"I was standing there for a bit..."

"So you have a photo?" Poppy questioned, "That would work better so I can actually picture him, you know. I've never actually met him."

It's true. Poppy wasn't even thought of when Dean and Sam were last here. They'd been here not even two days before Dean was taken by Crowley's minions. She would need something better to focus on him.

"He's not going to trust you." Sam pointed out, thinking about it. When Poppy got to Dean—he refused to think if because that would suggest he believed his brother was now dead—she would need something to prove that she was really there to help him. He had no idea what the demons were doing to mess with Dean's head to weaken him before his trip to Hell.

"I'll find a way," Poppy shrugged her shoulders, "We'd better try this before my mom finds out what we're doing. She'll kill you both."

They'd decided to stay in the garage to do the astral projection. Dean's Impala made the perfect spot to really connect with the hunter, and the garage was a spot where hardly anyone would come. No-one really wanted to disturb Melinda while she was working on a car, knowing that were her stress release. They'd only do it if they had something.

"So, I just need to tell Dean to hang on and find out where he is?"

"That's right," Mel nodded, sitting next to her cousin, "And tell him we're getting him out of this deal. Tell him we definitely have a way."

She wanted Dean to have hope.

"What about a message from you?" Poppy asked, "Want me to tell him you love him?"

"I don't love him, Poppy," Melinda shook her head with a frown, "But you can tell him I'm gonna kill every last demon that decided to take him."

Poppy grinned, she was just playing with Mel, but her cupid side was telling her something else. There was a connection for Mel. It was like the two souls were broken and needed each other to heal.

"Right, I need that photo, Sam." Poppy grinned, looking past Melinda and at Sam. Sam was looking down at the photo that had been in his wallet. He was deep in thought at the day. It was from a trip to Bobby's. The guy was getting sentimental in his old age, but Sam didn't mind. He liked carrying the memory of the three of them together around.

Sam passed the photo to Poppy, but Melinda caught sight of Dean. Tears formed in her eyes at the sight of him. She hadn't quite remembered how handsome he was. He had a rough look, but there was beauty in those sad green eyes. Poppy grabbed Melinda's hand with a small smile, "I'll get to him, Mel."

With that, Poppy focused her thoughts on the man in the picture. She focused everything on getting herself to where Dean was. And then suddenly, it was like she was asleep. Melinda and Sam watched as her head dropped.

"Is she...?"

"She's astral projected somewhere." Melinda nodded her head, hoping with everything she had that her cousin had gotten to Dean.

* * *

><p>A pink glow formed in the room. It was dull but enough to light up a room. Almost instantly it was gone. Dean just groaned. What the hell did those demons want now?<p>

"Dean?" a female's voice whispered and then footsteps made her way closer to him, "Oh my God, Dean!"

Dean frowned and swallowed hard. It felt like gravel going down his throat. He was ready for a kick or something from the demon that was now standing above him.

"Mel will be so happy that it worked," the girl now said, making Dean frown. Mel? No-one had brought up Mel yet. Dean had only been with her twice, so the demons wouldn't have worked out that there was something between them yet. They'd brought up Wyatt, knowing their friendship, and Sam but they'd never mentioned Melinda, "Do you know where we are?"

"Who are you?" Dean now opened his swollen eyes, realizing that he had no idea who this girl was. She had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. It reminded him of the other Halliwells, especially Pru and those photos of Piper that he saw. She had to be one of the cousins, but which one.

"I'm Poppy," the girl said, touching his arm. Dean cried out in pain, and Poppy quickly jumped back, "I'm sorry! I...What the hell have they done to you?"

"You don't want to know, sweetheart," Dean shook his head, trying to sit up. He was in too much pain, though. He gave up and rolled onto his back. Poppy's hands now touched his face. They were cold, and it was so refreshing on the burning cuts he was littered with, "You shouldn't have come here. Demons will..."

"Demons can't hurt me," Poppy smiled, "I astral projected here. So I'm technically not really here, if that makes sense. Mel and Sam had a message for you. They wanted to let you know that they've found a way to get you out of your deal."

"My...I thought they'd give up on that by now."

"Never," Poppy shook her head, "They been working on it for the last month. Do you know where you are?"

Sounds outside the room told Poppy that she needed to be quick. She was just lucky that the room had been clear when she first astral projected into the room. As she heard the door opening, she knew she'd have to get away.

"Dean, do you know?"

"No," Dean shook his head, "Tell them to leave me. I'll cope with Hell. I promise."

Demons came into the room and Poppy panicked. She disappeared in a pink glow. Dean closed his eyes getting ready for the hell he was about to face. But deep down there was hope. Not only had his brother not given up, but Melinda hadn't either. Of all people, Melinda was working on saving him. Did that mean...

Dean didn't have time to finish his thoughts as the demons grabbed him and chained him up again.

**What do you think? I just had to bring Poppy into it. She's a character that I created a few years ago for a virtual series (in fact, all of the cousins are), and I really love using her. I'd love to hear what you think about her and the way the story is going.****  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you once again for the reviews.**

**I was having some trouble accessing the site yesterday due to the Firefox cryptic message that kept popping up. Otherwise, I would have had this chapter posted then. But never mind, it's here now and there are four left after this! It's the countdown to the end of this story. Don't worry, there is more to follow.**

**I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 14

Poppy sat up with a shock in the Impala. Melinda and Sam were looking at her, with hope in their eyes.

"I got to him," Poppy said, looking between them with tears forming in her brown eyes, "He's...Oh God, Mel!"

"No," Melinda shook her head and climbed out the car, "He's...I can't...he can't be dead, Poppy. I can't do with losing him, too!"

Poppy quickly climbed out of the car, shaking her head. She ran to Melinda and grabbed her arms, forcing green eyes to look into her brown ones.

"He's not dead, Mel," she said, realizing how it first sounded. The sound of a car door closing, made her look over at Sam's hope in his brown eyes, "He's alive but he's hurt. Really hurt."

"Did you find out where?" Sam now asked, watching Melinda carefully. He never realized until this moment just how much Dean's disappearance was affecting her. He knew that his brother had slept with her and not some random girl. He didn't believe in coincidences. But he thought it was just a one-night stand. Just some fun for the two of them. Dean was going to hate coming back here and finding out that Mel was growing attached to him already. He felt guilt and shame for his own brother.

"No, I don't think he knew," Poppy shook her head, "Demons were coming in and I had to get out of there. I told him you were looking for him, though, and had found a way to save him. He likes you."

Sam frowned, realizing that Poppy was now talking to Melinda. Melinda just rolled her eyes, saying something under her breath that Sam didn't catch. But Poppy caught it.

"I don't need my cupid powers to see the hope that was in his eyes. Well, eye I could only see into one of them with how swollen the other was," Poppy derailed, "But there was hope. Just for a second. Then he told me to tell you to stop looking. He said he'd cope with Hell. I think it was just to get me out of there, though. You need to save him. It was bad."

Their conversation was cut short as Dana orbed into the garage. She looked scared, tears running down her cheeks.

"Dana?" Melinda just got out as Dana grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the room.

"We need everyone."

Dana paced the floor as Melinda and Sam gathered everyone they could in the room. The only people missing were those who couldn't really do much to help. Poppy had told her mother that she was staying, refraining from saying that she'd already helped. That was a conversation to have later. Riley still wasn't back from the demon bar, but Pru had agreed to fill him in later.

"Dana, calm down." Chris tried to grab his girlfriend's hand, but she brushed him off.

"I can't calm down, Chris," Dana shook her head, continuing to pace, "This is big. This is major!"

"Well, we're all here, now," Paige spoke up looking around the room, "Tell us."

"I can't believe the Elders just told me," Dana started, "They said they've only just found out."

"Found what out?" Phoebe frowned.

"Dean's deal is a major problem," Dana looked at Sam, "He should never have given up his soul to save you. His deal is going to set up events that will lead to something major. Something that the Elders never thought possible. It wasn't meant to happen this way. You were always supposed to die first, before all this happened."

"I told Dean he shouldn't have, but what can I do? Tell Crowley to take me instead? I'll do it."

"No, Dean would never let you do that," Wyatt shook his head with darkness in his voice, "And neither will I. What's going to happen, Dana?"

"Dean going to Hell means that he can break the first seal," when everyone looked between each other asking questions about what the seal was, Dana continued, "The 66 seals needed to release Lucifer. Dean's deal will lead to Satan himself being released."

As everyone looked at her with a mixture of fear, shock and raised eyebrows, Dana continued to tell them everything that the Elders had told her. She couldn't stand still as she went through the process of releasing Lucifer and what it would mean for the world. They needed to stop Dean from going to Hell. Dana stopped short of saying even if it meant Sam dying instead, but everyone knew that that was what the Elders wanted.

It was what Sam wanted too. He hated knowing that he owed his life to a demon deal that Dean stupidly agreed to. Dean had always said that he was never meant to last the last year anyway, let alone this extra one, but it wasn't good enough for Sam. He would need to go on without his brother, and now it meant that Lucifer was going to be raised from the pits of Hell.

"What are our options?" Wyatt asked, "Do we know that Dean is still alive?"

"He is." Melinda said with a small voice and then realized that she shouldn't have.

"How do you know?"

"I know," Poppy now spoke up, "I astral projected to him."

"What!" Phoebe shrieked before turning her anger onto Melinda, "I told you no. She wasn't going to..."

"I chose to do it, Mom," Poppy stopped Phoebe from releasing all her anger, "I wanted to help. I got to Dean and I told him that we're working on it. He's so beat up, though. Mom, he really needs our help! We need to save him."

* * *

><p>"You came back?" Dean groaned seeing the flash of pink in the room again. He'd been through more rounds of torture than he could count, but he had new hope. The Halliwells were still trying to help him. They weren't just trying to find him, but were still working on that deal. Crowley's plan hadn't quite worked as he wanted.<p>

"Of course I did," Poppy smiled, rushing over to him and helping him sit up this time, "I really wish I could help some more, though."

"You being here is more than enough right now," Dean admitted, hating the weakness he was feeling, "I thought I told you to stop saving me, though."

"You did. Mel and Sam decided against it," Poppy smiled, "Actually, the whole family decided against it. There's something you should know."

"What's that, sweetheart? They're not gonna find me?"

"No, not that at all," Poppy shook her head, "We'll find you and we'll kill the bastards outside. Mel is gonna have your ass. She says that the only reason this happened is because you left her alone in the backroom."

Dean chuckled but then winced. Damn the pain in his ribs hurt. He coughed as he winced, making the pain worse. Poppy grimaced at the sound of the chesty cough he had.

"Bobby is with us now, too," Dean smiled at that and Poppy grinned, "Sam said you'd like that news."

"Bobby is awesome," Dean said, "Best hunter I know." He could see the grin turn to a soft smile, and the helplessness in her eyes. She was feeling guilty that she couldn't do more than this to help, but she had no idea how much she was helping. She was giving him the strength he needed to withstand the torture. Before she turned up, he was thinking about ways to end it all. He wanted to go to Hell already. It was ridiculous really. He'd only end up going through this day after day, with no way to escape. But he was weak, and he was breaking knowing that he was going to Hell soon anyway.

"Well, Bobby has some news and can help us save you, Dean." She said, but her voice was wavering. The poor girl was struggling to keep her composure.

"Hey, sit down," Dean patted the floor, and then took a sharp breath. Pain shot up his arm that he was sure was broken, "Sit with me for a moment."

"I can't stay long," Poppy sighed, sitting next to him, "I'm sorry." Dean smiled and shook his head. She really had no idea how much she was helping.

"So, which one are you, Poppy?"

"Which one what?"

"Which cousin?" Dean now asked, "There's, what? Nine of you?"

"Yeah, I'm the baby of the family. Phoebe's my mom," Poppy explained with a smile, "She didn't want me doing this at first."

"I'm not surprised," Dean explained, "You shouldn't have risked your life to save me."

"Give me 17 months and I'll be a Charmed One. I can't believe my mom didn't let me take up that destiny now. With Aunt Piper gone..." A flash of sadness and pain crossed Poppy's face. Dean pushed past his own physical pain to wrap his arm around the young girl and pull him into her. He didn't realize that Poppy was getting butterflies from this touch. He may not look it now, but he was cute from the photo she'd used to get a lock on him the first time.

"I'm sorry about your aunt," Dean sighed, "I've been trying to help Mel..."

"You did help Mel," Poppy looked into his less swollen eye, "She has...she's been amazing. She took charge when everyone else panicked. She likes you a lot, Dean, and I can see you like her."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to Hell." Dean said, as if it was an explanation of why they would never be together. Deep down, though, Dean knew that wasn't the only reason. He wouldn't bring someone else into his lifestyle.

"You're not going to Hell," Poppy shook her head and then pulled out of his grasp, "We will make sure of it. I think Mel and Sam would follow you to Hell just to pull you out if they had to. Wyatt would, too."

A scuffling on the other side of the door made them snap their attention to it. Was someone coming? It seemed like someone was just checking on Dean. Maybe their voices had been heard outside. They would have to be quiet.

When the door didn't open, Poppy turned back to Dean.

"You know we need to know where you are," Poppy sighed, "Think you can try and find that out for us? We'll keep on getting your contract broken."

"Yeah," Dean said and he knew that he would certainly try, "I'll see what I can find out."

"I want to stay for longer but they'll be worried about me." Poppy admitted, and felt guilty when she saw the sadness in Dean's green eye. She wanted to stay, and could tell he wanted that, too. Maybe he needed it to forget about everything he was going through here.

"You should. And you don't need to come back."

"I'll be back," Poppy smiled to him, "Anything you want me to tell anyone? And don't say to leave you here."

"Just...tell them I'll say it all when I get back."

At that, Poppy grinned and then disappeared in a pink light. Dean coughed hard, feeling his chest burn. Poppy had made it all seem brighter. He _would_ get out of here. He would see his brother again. He brother and...Mel...

**So what do you think? I'd really love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. I love reviews :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you again for your reviews. I love knowing that people are enjoying this story. It may only be a small number of people, but just knowing one person likes it I'm really happy.**

**Now, I couldn't do a story with Supernatural characters without bringing Bobby in. He is my favorite non-lead character, and this is the chapter he properly shows up in. I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 15

"Dean would hate to see the car in the garage. It should be out on the road." Bobby said, as he walked into the garage connected to the Halliwell Manor. He peered around at what looked like the shell of a Ford Mustang next to the Impala and sighed, "But it definitely looks a hell of a lot better than this. What idjit ruined a perfectly good Mustang?"

"That idjit would be the one fixing it," Melinda called out from underneath the car, where she had finally fixed the clutch. She rolled out from underneath and sat up. Bobby was grinning at her with two beers. One of them he was drinking. The other was held out for Melinda to take, "Thanks."

"Your brothers said what happened," Bobby said before Melinda explained the mess that the car was in, "You okay?"

"No broken bones," Melinda replied back and then stood up, taking a swig from her beer, "They're sure I've got mental issues."

"We all do. Got mental issues, I mean." Bobby shrugged his shoulders, making Melinda smile. The smile didn't quite reach her green eyes, though. He could tell that all of this was weighing on her. They sat in silence for a while taking in Bobby's last statement, before Melinda put her beer to one side and walked to a cabinet. She pulled out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey from the back of the cabinet; hidden behind a few boxes.

"How about we have something stronger."

Bobby laughed as Melinda poured them some of the good stuff and handed him a glass.

"Your brothers know about that?" when Melinda shook her head, Bobby asked another question, "Your dad?"

"You think he'd let me have whiskey in the garage?" Melinda laughed, "If you do, you don't really know Leo."

"Oh, I know him better than you think," Bobby laughed, "Same with your mom and aunts."

"I don't remember you coming to save Dean and Wyatt." Melinda cocked her head to one side, as she found out more about this hunter's past.

"It was before that," Bobby shook his head, "I was in San Francisco on another hunt, and your mom and aunts ran into me. That's why I encouraged John to work with them when your brother was taken with Dean. I knew they were good, that they'd look after my boy."

Melinda just smiled at the way Bobby spoke so fondly of Dean.

"Kept in touch with them a lot over the years," Bobby sighed, "I was sorry to hear about your mom last year."

"Don't be," Melinda shook her head, "Not like anyone could have done anything. Trust me."

"You were there?"

At that, Melinda drank the rest of her whiskey and poured another one for herself. She checked to see that Bobby was still nursing his, and he had a look of realization on his face.

"You were there."

"I...yeah," Melinda nodded. It was something that she hadn't told anyone. It was her fault that the demons came because she was trying to get Ben back. She needed him back from the dead, and the demons attacked her.

"_You don't get it, Mom!" Melinda screamed from where she stood in the attic. Piper was by the Book, after closing it almost on Melinda's fingers, "I will find a way..."_

"_You can't bring the dead back, Melinda," Piper argued, "It doesn't work that way. Our powers don't work that way. If we could, your Aunt Prue would still be here. Your grandma would be here. Hell, even Andy and everyone else we've lost over the years."_

"_I'm not giving up like you did." Melinda said and started walking out of the door._

"_I never gave up," Piper shouted back, storming towards her daughter. She grabbed Melinda's arm, turning her around, "Never once did I give up. I accepted fate. I accepted death. And besides, we'd have never found your Aunt Paige if your Aunt Prue didn't die."_

"_Don't give me that bullshit, Mom," Melinda narrowed her green eyes in disgust, "You gave up. You feel guilty for that, and now you're coming up with excuses. You don't want to see me succeed at something you couldn't. You can't stand the idea that your little girl is a better witch than you. That's why you hold me back at everything else."_

_Before either of them could say anything else, demons shimmered into the attic. They'd never come into the attic, and were clearly on the warpath. Piper wasn't going to let anything happen to her daughter, and pushed her out of the way. Mel didn't realize how close she was to the door or stairs, until she felt herself tumbling down them._

_It took a while for Melinda to collect her thoughts after that tumble. She could hear the fight going on in the attic. There were crashes and explosions, but it sounded like Piper had the upper hand. Despite having a dislike for her mother, Mel didn't want to lose her and finally clambered to her feet. She made it up to the attic and froze when she saw the scene._

_A demon had Piper up by the neck. Piper couldn't fight death as her airway was so constricted. Melinda was just about to use her own power to vanquish the demon, but she was too late. The demon snapped Piper's neck, as if it was just a twig. He then looked at Melinda with a sadistic smile before shimmering out._

"_No! Mom!" Melinda cried out, running to her mother's body. She grabbed her mom's head, screaming at her to open her eyes. Then she screamed for her brothers. They had to be able to do something._

_But her brothers couldn't heal the dead. No whitelighter could heal the dead. Their mother was gone._

_After that, Melinda ran downstairs and out of the house. She went to the one place that could help her._

_P3._

_That was when she found her love for whiskey, and learned just how much it could help her forget. At least temporarily._

"It wasn't your fault, Melinda," Bobby shook his head, hearing the tale. He wondered if he was the first to hear that tale, "You couldn't have done anything."

"I know," Melinda nodded her head, "You want to know what the worst part is?" Bobby was interested now, "Part of me didn't care. After Ben, I just...I didn't care. I didn't care about life, anymore. I mean, what's the point? It can be gone just like that."

Melinda snapped her fingers, and shook her head with a laugh that made it clear she was hurting deep down. He had heard that laugh plenty of times from Dean.

"So, why try save Dean?" Bobby now asked, thinking about what she'd just said, "If it can all be over, why try save him?"

"I don't know," Melinda shrugged her shoulders, but deep down she knew why. She knew that he had touched her somewhere that very few others had. And not physically, "I guess no-one who gives up his soul for his brother deserves to go to Hell for that stupid decision."

* * *

><p>"Let's go to Scotland, then." Wyatt shrugged his shoulders, looking directly at the aging hunter. They were discussing everything he had found out about Crowley's human life. It turned out that Crowley had summoned a Crossroads Demon and sold his soul for the most ridiculous reason; to get an extra three inches below the belt. Was that really a reason to sell your soul?<p>

It seemed like it for this Fergus MacLeod.

Bobby had even double-checked that this was a way out of Dean's deal. That this would be a way to kill the demon. He'd tortured another Crossroads Demon to get her to spill the secrets. Ruby had laughed when she found out about that, questioning why she would give them this weakness if it wasn't true. She was putting a lot on the line, because they could find out more about her and do the same thing.

Chris did wonder why they weren't doing that, but Sam had a soft spot for her. Besides, she was helping when she could.

Getting all the information together—and finding out where this Fergus MacLeod was buried—got them to this point. They were putting their plan together. They needed to get to Scotland, but then they needed to figure out what to do after that. Paige had warned them that killing the demon didn't usually destroy the contract. It would usually mean the soul was taken sooner than stated on the magical piece of paper.

It was Hen—Paige's son—who suggested that they work on negotiating another deal. They held Crowley's remains and negotiated a way to save Dean and Sam at the same time. Everyone seemed to accept that it was a good idea, but they were sure that Crowley would know what they were up to.

That was where Sam and Melinda came in. Wyatt and Chris could orb to Scotland and do the digging—not something either were looking forward to—and Melinda and Sam would summon Crowley. They'd keep him talking while the boys did the digging and the bringing. They could negotiate from there.

It all sounded like a great plan. That was until Poppy came back from another astral projection to see Dean and tell him what was going on.

"He's not going to last long," Poppy looked at Melinda with tears in her eyes, "His wounds are getting infected. He needs healing now!"

* * *

><p>Dean coughed and shivered. He had never felt this ill in his entire life. No, scratch that. He remembered the weakness after that electrocution a couple of years back. He was supposed to die then, but he was saved by a twist of fate—and magic.<p>

This felt worse, though. His whole body was in agony, and he felt hot. But at the same time he was cold. So cold.

He'd seen the look on Poppy's face. There was something that she'd tried to hide from him, but there was only so much a 16-year-old could hide. She couldn't hide the fact that he was going to die much sooner than any of them wanted.

**Is it possible to save Dean in time? I know he wasn't in it that much, but I really wanted to focus on Mel. I think out of everyone, she'd find herself comfortable talking to Bobby. He was always that guy for Dean to turn to when distraught from the beginning. Bobby just has that way about him.**

**So, what do you think? Please do leave a review to let me know. I love to hear your thoughts and opinions.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you again for the reviews. So, you think Dean is going to Hell, gabyhyatt? I'm not going to spoil it but I will tell you that the ending isn't like No Rest for the Wicked. I like to put my own twist to plots :)**

**I don't usually post a new chapter the next day but I've been looking at the number of chapters left and the number of days left until Christmas. I'm out all day Sunday because I'm at my daughter's nativity and then going to a Christmas do, so I can't post anything at all that day. Christmas Eve may also be out of the question with how much we get done on that day. So, there are only a handful of days left and I want to make sure you get the ending by Christmas Day. Then afterwards I'll start the sequel.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I had fun writing it.**

Chapter 16

Sam acted as quickly as possible. He threw together all the ingredients for the summons, and set everything up the way it needed. While he did that, Bobby drew the devil's trap on the floor. They wanted it on the ceiling, but it was too high to do that. Melinda found a rug to place over it and then put Aunt Pearl's horrible, clumpy, old couch over it. They would encourage Crowley to sit down while they distracted him.

As soon as Sam started summoning Crowley, Wyatt and Chris orbed to Scotland. Hen and Paige joined them, deciding that more hands would be better to dig up the body as quickly as possible. None of them really wanted to desecrate a corpse, but they had no choice right now.

Crowley appeared at the summons and looked at Sam, Bobby and then Melinda.

"You must be Sam," Crowley smirked and started walking around the room. He didn't quite get to the devil's trap, but Sam had hope that he would soon, "You finally found me."

"Crowley." Sam sneered at the demon that held his brother's contract.

Crowley walked over to Melinda and sized her up, "We haven't had the pleasure."

"And we won't." Melinda glared back, clenching her fist as if to punch Crowley in the face.

"So, you brought me here to ask for Dean's soul back, while keeping you alive," Crowley moved on from Melinda and ignored Bobby. Crowley walked around the room again, looking at various heirlooms. He then saw the Book of Shadows, "The infamous Halliwell Book of Shadows." He grinned as he went to touch it. The Book closed on its own, making Melinda smirk.

Crowley looked at Melinda, and smirked back, "So, the rumors are true. It really does protect itself from evil."

"It's smart like that," Melinda stated with a shrug, "Now, let's make a deal."

"Oh, now I love deals. What is it that you want?"

"Dean back. Sam alive." Bobby answered.

"I'll think about it," Crowley shrugged his shoulders just as three demons appeared behind the three of them. One demon each took hold of Sam, Melinda and Bobby. Struggle all they might, they couldn't get out of the demons' grasps. Crowley smirked and then walked over to Bobby, reaching into his jacket pocket. With that, Crowley pulled out the colt.

Bobby tried to struggle harder, but the demon kicked him in the back of the knee. Bobby went down to the ground hard.

Melinda fought again, letting electricity build in her hands.

"Watch out for that one," Crowley pointed to Melinda and then aimed the colt at her. Sam's eyes went wide, just as Crowley looked like he was about to shoot. Melinda looked at Crowley in fear, but then Crowley moved the colt to the direction of the demon holding her, pulled the trigger and shot the demon in the head. He followed by shooting the other two demons, "Now, we need to talk."

* * *

><p>Wyatt dug as fast as he could, constantly looking around for signs that someone was coming to them. Luckily, they were in an overgrown section of the cemetery. It was full of graves from centuries past. But it didn't make him feel any less uneasy at doing this.<p>

He kept telling himself that the only reason he was doing this was because Dean was his friend. But deep down, he knew he'd do this to save anyone. And it was another demon gone.

Wyatt glanced over at Chris, who was also digging. Hen was just past him, doing more of the work. Paige was standing over the grave, playing lookout.

"Think we can use magic now?" Chris asked. They were half way down the six foot of dirt. They'd already tried lifting the body with magic, but the weight of the dirt was too much.

"Let's try." Wyatt agreed and hoisted himself out of the grave. Chris and Hen followed suit and all four witches stood over the grave. Chris held out his hands, trying to lift the body, but it was too heavy. Wyatt and Paige looked at each other and used their version of their power to call for the body.

Blue and white lights appeared in their arms. Suddenly they were full of bones. Paige screamed and dropped her arms, forcing some of the skeleton to fall back into the grave.

"Well done, Mom!" Hen laughed and climbed back into the grave. He took the woven bag that they'd brought with them and started putting the bones into it. They needed to get back for the negotiations.

* * *

><p>"Talk?" Sam frowned, folding his arms. This was not the way that this stalling was meant to work.<p>

"A little bird told me that Dean going to Hell will raise Lucifer from the dead," Crowley said, walking over to the window, looking out of it. He held out his hand and a decanter appeared. Taking the top off, he then held out the other hand and poured himself a glass of whatever liquid was in the bottle, "Want some?"

"We're fine, thanks." Sam said, uneasily. Where was this going? Crowley shrugged and put the decanter down on a table, before turning back to face the three.

"I don't want Lucifer up here, so I'm willing to make some sort of deal," he agreed, "But I still want a Winchester."

Sam laughed, not amused at the turn of the conversation. Crowley then looked at Melinda, "Or a Halliwell. A Halliwell is just as good as a Winchester."

"And why would you not want Lucifer out of the box?" Bobby now asked the big question.

"Call it survival," Crowley shrugged his shoulders, "Lucifer isn't a demon. He's an angel, and he created us. But we're just cannon fodder. Once he kills you pesky humans—which is just what he'll do—he'll then go after us. And I don't want to end up dead."

"But you still want to prove just how great you are."

"That's right, munchkin," Crowley pointed at Melinda and then walked back around the room. He sat down on Aunt Pearl's couch, missing the smirk from Sam as the plan worked. He was now powerless, "You get to choose who comes along."

"No deal," Melinda smirked as she saw blue and white lights behind Crowley. Her brothers were back, "We want Dean's deal broken but Sam alive. And no Halliwell will go with you."

Crowley laughed and then looked behind him as Wyatt, Chris, Hen and Paige all materialized, holding a bag. Wyatt put the bag on the floor, just outside of the devil's trap, and walked over to join his sister.

"How are the negotiations?"

"Not quite going that well."

"Well, this will change things."

Crowley was intrigued. What had they just come across? He had an uneasy feeling the more he looked at that bag, especially when Hen tipped the bag open and a skeleton fell out of it.

"You agree to our terms, and we won't burn your bones."

"You burn them and you lose Dean anyway."

"He'd rather have that then your deal," Sam shrugged his shoulders, knowing his brother too well, "And then Lucifer would be released."

Crowley clicked his fingers to get his remains to him, but nothing happened. Everyone else in the room chuckled at the shocked look on his face.

"What's your answer, Crowley?" Sam asked, "Dean lives, I live and you live. Lucifer isn't freed. No Halliwell is going to Hell. And things go back to the way they were."

"I get my remains."

They didn't want to agree to this, but they knew that it was better than any other option. If they did burn Crowley's remains, they knew that they wouldn't see Dean again. And he would go to Hell. They didn't want Lucifer risen either.

"Deal." Sam nodded his head.

"Oh and you tell us where you're keeping Dean right now." Melinda threw that in as they still weren't certain. They did have Riley trying to find out, but he was coming up with a blank still.

"Fine," Crowley growled, "He's in the sewers. Now let me out."

"Where in the sewers?" Wyatt asked as Sam bent down to destroy the devil's trap.

"You'll find him."

With that, Crowley clicked his fingers. He and his remains disappeared.

"Is that really it?" Chris looked uneasy at the whole thing.

* * *

><p>Dean shivered even more, trying so hard to stop. It was agony shivering when you were covered in so many cuts, bruises and broken bones.<p>

Movement outside of the door made him groan. They were coming back. Was this going to finish him? Was this going to finally send him to Hell?

Dean managed to glance up weakly to find it was the boss standing above him. Great. The boss was going to be the one to finish him off.

"This is your lucky day, Squirrel," Crowley growled, and grabbed Dean to a sitting position. Dean groaned, unable to let anything else out by that point, "Your brother pulled it off. Say hi to Moose the next time you see him."

As Crowley walked out, Dean fell back to the ground in pain and confusion. What the hell was Crowley talking about? Before he could ask, Crowley clicked his fingers and a piece of paper appeared in front of Dean. Weakly he tried to grab it but that was it until he finally blacked out from everything that he had been through.

* * *

><p>"He really doesn't have long," Poppy cried hard as Wyatt attempted to sense for his friend. Crowley had said they would be able to find him, but he was coming up blank so far, "What if he's dead already?"<p>

That was what Wyatt feared. He should have been able to sense for his friend. Crowley had said they'd be able to find him.

Melinda pulled out a map of San Francisco, and used one of Dean's shirts to scry for him. The crystal to drop somewhere. But it wasn't.

The rest of the Halliwell family, Sam and Bobby were searching in the sewers. They were looking in every little hiding spot they could to find Dean before it was too late.

"Can you get back to him?" Wyatt now asked Poppy. She was in tears at the idea that they had worked so hard to only lose Dean at the last hurdle, "Get to him and see if he's still alive. And find out where he fucking is! Poppy!"

"Please, Poppy!" Melinda looked up at her baby cousin. Poppy nodded her head and got herself ready on the couch in a chair opposite Melinda. She was going to find Dean.

* * *

><p>"Dean?" A voice called out to him. It was soft and angelic. Just like he imagined it would be when he made it to the white pearly gates. But then he remembered that he wasn't going to be at the gates. He was heading downstairs, and this was obviously the angelic voice to encourage him to follow her. He wasn't going to say no, right now, "Dean?"<p>

Dean groaned as he felt someone touch his forehead.

"You're burning up!" the girl said again. Of course he was, he was in Hell. But then, he didn't feel hot. He felt cold. So cold, "God, I need to figure out where this place is."

Frowning, Dean finally started to open his eyes. He was surprised to find he was still in the dark room. Was he still alive? How the hell was he holding on this long? When he really got a good look, he realized that it was Poppy that was in the room with him. She'd come back.

"Po...Popp..." Dean could barely speak, but she'd heard him. Poppy smiled at him.

"Yeah, it's me," she said, softly, "Did you find out where you are?"

No, he hadn't. He was supposed to, and he did try to. But he couldn't do it. He knew that his wounds were getting infected and he was really struggling with that. If he wasn't in pain, he was struggling to hold onto reality.

"It's okay, Dean, we'll figure this out." Poppy said and then got up to look around.

"No..." Dean called out, but he wasn't sure why. Was he worried about Poppy getting hurt? She could just astral project back home. He wondered whether it was fear of her leaving him there. He now realized that he was scared of dying.

"I'll be right back, Dean. I promise." Poppy said and then walked towards the door. It was then that she saw it was slightly ajar. Opening it, the whole tunnel was empty. She could get around without...Dean! She could get Dean out of here. There must have been some magic stopping her cousins from sensing and scrying him. She just needed to help him move.

Poppy looked back with a grimace. Dean was slumped on the floor, shaking, weak and dying. She couldn't help him get out of there. She needed to figure out where her cousins were. Then she had an idea.

She ran back to Dean to wake him up, "Don't die on me, Winchester." She spoke to him softly, catching his attention. He smiled weakly, as she explained what she was going to do. She would help get him out of there. Once out, Wyatt could heal him from the brink of death. He just needed to promise to hold on as long as he could. With that, she left him behind and went out with her plan.

Dean didn't know how long Poppy had been gone. He didn't really know much of what was going on, really. He was in two minds over whether to care. But he'd promised her that he would hold on. Mentally, he made that promise to Sam, Melinda, Wyatt and everyone else who was searching for him. Not that it mattered. He was going to Hell after all this anyway. Was there any point in helping him? Maybe he should just die now.

"Dean?" Sammy's voice called out somewhere. It sounded so far away. Dean tried to call out to his brother, but it was no use. "Dean!"

Dean glanced up to see someone that looked a lot like Sam running up to him. There were flashlights shining all around, making his eyes hurt like hell.

"Damn it, Dean," Sammy now said, "Stay with me."

Sam had seen markings on the walls of the sewers. Just accidently came across them. He then ran into Chris and Dana, who were following another set of markings. Chris explained that they were one of his cousins, most likely Poppy. They had a way to leaving messages for each other, just in case. It was like breadcrumbs.

It was a brilliant idea, but relied on the fact that they were in the right place. It seemed like Poppy was running all over the place trying to get people to Dean in time. And they really did need to work quickly.

"I can't orb out from here," Chris admitted, giving the flashlight to Dana and rushing to Sam, "We're gonna have to get out of this bit. It's completely protected from magic."

That would be why they weren't able to sense Dean. Somehow Poppy could astral project, but they couldn't do anything else. They'd have to work out why that was the case late.

Sam put his flashlight in his jacket pocket and worked with Chris to help get Dean onto his feet. Before they could do anything, Dean's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed with all his weight on them.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Dean is out of his deal. But oh no...is it too little too late? Could he still end up dying thanks to Crowley?<strong>

**Please do leave your thoughts and opinions. I'll be back tomorrow or Monday with the next chapter :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you again for your reviews. I know you don't want to see Dean die, and this episode answers the question as to whether he will or not...**

**There's just one more chapter left of this and I will get it up before Christmas Day. It's all ready and waiting for you. Then I can start the sequel after Christmas.**

**I really hope you enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.**

Chapter 17

"Chris, we need to get him out of here," Dana screamed, trying to help get Dean onto his feet, "I can't heal him."

"I know," Chris growled, as the three of them worked on getting Dean up onto his feet. They were all scared. Chris had tried to find a pulse, but there was nothing. Hopefully it was just too faint to feel it through his skin, "C'mon, on three. One, two, three."

The three of them picked Dean up. Chris had Dean's shoulders, Sam his feet and Dana was steadying the middle. They carried him out of the room and down the tunnels of the sewer. As soon as they were out of a magic-free section, Chris and Dana orbed, taking Dean and Sam with them.

"Dean!" Melinda screamed as Chris and Dana orbed in with the Winchesters in tow. Dean was out cold, hopefully still breathing. Wyatt pulled Melinda back as he ran to his friend's body, instinctively putting his hands over him. He and Dana worked together to heal Dean's wounds. It was taking time but he could feel it working.

Melinda just watched nervously. Her world was crumbling around her. She felt like she was about to collapse, but a pair of strong arms grabbed her. It was Sam. He had clung onto her, and she wasn't sure whether it was to steady her or to steady himself. Possibly both.

Chris and Poppy watched as the wounds all over Dean's body slowly started to heal. But he was still out cold.

"C'mon, Dean," Poppy said under her breath, "You promised me."

After what seemed like an eternity, Dean opened his eyes and looked around. Everyone let out gasps of relief, including the two healers. Melinda felt her whole body shake as she broke down in happy tears. He was alive and well. The only thing stopping her from dropping to her knees was Sam's strong arms.

Wyatt helped Dean sit up, "Careful, dude. You almost died."

Dean couldn't believe it. They had found him and had saved him. But then he frowned. What was the point?

"You've just prolonged me going to Hell, Wyatt," Dean sighed, "You should have left me."

"You're not going to Hell, Dean." Wyatt shook his head, but Dean didn't believe him. He knew that Crowley had set up this plan so they'd stop looking for him. He probably had days left on his contract. How long had it taken them to find him? How long had he been out for?

"We got you out of that." Sam said, but again Dean refused to believe them.

"You're still standing, Sammy," Dean shook his head, "You can't be standing if I'm not going to Hell."

"You can when you put the demon holding your contract in a very difficult position." Melinda pointed out with a grin, the tears still running down her face. She could see the distrust in Dean's emerald orbs, but there was something inside him that wanted to believe them. He just wouldn't let himself.

"You're not going to Hell, Dean." Now it was Dana's turn to tell him. When someone other than those very close to him said it, he was more inclined to believe it. But he wanted proof. Even if they had negotiated something, Crowley could easily go back on that.

Dana did have the proof.

_Dana followed Chris and Sam into the room. They'd followed Poppy's excellent breadcrumbs. At least, she guessed they were Poppy's. The Halliwells had a great system to lead someone to a specific location, and Poppy was the one who knew Dean's location. She'd obviously been able to get out of the room and leave marks on the walls to direct everyone in the right place._

_Dean was in a very sorry state when they got there. Dana hadn't seen anything like this since the Middle Ages. She still remembered seeing one of her charges up on the rack. The poor guy was being tortured for something he didn't do. He didn't tell the people what they wanted to know though, and that helped him become a whitelighter. But Dana would never get the images out of her head._

_This was just like that. She stepped to one side while Chris and Sam tried to help Dean to his feet, and that was when she saw it. There was a sheet of paper by Dean's body. The boys had missed it, and Dean was obviously not in a state to notice it at all._

_Dana picked it up and realized right away what it was. It was a contract. One signed by Crowley. It made it clear that Dean's soul was now Dean's again, and Sam would still be alive. It was all in return for not starting the release of Lucifer and Crowley's remains._

Dana pulled out the piece of paper that she'd found, and gave it to Dean.

"There's your proof." She said, and waited for him to read it.

Dean couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was an old-style sheet of paper, as if something out of the Dark Ages. It was full of legal terms, but there were two that stood out for him. Dean's soul now belonged to him again and Sammy was going to remain alive.

Dean was free! He was actually free from Hell!

* * *

><p>"So, I was thinking," Dean said as he walked into the garage. He knew the person he would want to see was in here. As usually, she was underneath the '66 Ford Mustang. It had obviously been neglected over the last few weeks while she focused on finding him and getting him out of his contract, "How about I stay to help you get this fixed up fully."<p>

Melinda rolled out from under the car, reaching for her beer that sat on the workbench. Dean couldn't help but laugh at her.

"What?" Melinda frowned.

"Not stopped drinking?" Dean questioned. Melinda simply nodded towards the beer that was in his hand.

Touché.

"Why would you want to stay here to fix up a car with me?" Melinda now asked, standing up and making her way to Dean.

"Well, I like cars and I fixed my baby up when she was a write-off," Dean pointed out, "And I think I want a bit of downtime, you know. I've spent the last month being tortured, and nine months before that following Sammy as he tried to find me a way out of the deal. And I guess I need to thank you guys for actually saving me from that deal."

"Is that all, Winchester?" Melinda questioned with a smile. Dean pulled Melinda towards him, and kissed her hard.

"That and I want to see what's under all this again," he smirked, "Maybe we could do it while a little more sober."

A scream from inside the house alerted the two of them to something happened. Melinda jumped from Dean and rushed into the house, closely followed by him. As he got through the door, all he could hear was yelling coming from another room. Melinda had already followed the sound of the noise, and Dean quickly put the bottle of beer down and moved his hand towards the gun that constantly lived in the back of his jeans.

As he got into the dining room, he watched as Wyatt was running around like a headless chicken. Bianca was leaning on the dining table, obviously in pain. Dana was grabbing something on the key hook.

Dana ran over to Wyatt and grabbed his arms, stopping him from running around. Melinda was now with Bianca, rubbing her back. Dean finally realized that there was no need to be on such alert. It wasn't a demon.

Well, it wasn't a typical demon. Bianca probably wasn't going to say it wasn't a demon. He'd heard that childbirth was a bitch.

After a talk—and a slap—from Dana, Wyatt finally got himself under control and helped his wife outside. They were on their way to the hospital, Dana going with them for moral support. Melinda laughed as she walked over to Dean.

"Well, looks like I'll have a niece to cuddle very soon." Melinda stated.

"How about we celebrate while we have the house completely to ourselves?" Dean suggested with a wink. Melinda couldn't help but agree and she kissed him passionately. Dean picked Melinda up and pinned her up against the wall. He wanted to feel every inch of her.

Getting her out of her top, he felt Melinda's legs unwrap from his waist and she pushed him away. She ran towards the stairs, quickly followed by Dean. He grabbed her from behind, pulling her hair to one side and kissing her up her neck. He bit her ear gently, causing her to moan with pleasure.

They stumbled up the stairs together, not really wanting to let each other apart. Dean was just glad that he was sleeping in the room that used to be Melinda's. It would have been awkward if that was the one Sam was sleeping in.

Melinda stopped at her old bedroom door, putting her hand on the door knob. Just as she did that, Dean let his hand trail up her thigh and right in between her legs. He didn't stop there long though, and moved it to feel her breasts.

She turned around in his arms, and placed her hands on either side of his face. Pulling him closer, she kissed him hard. It was left to him to open the door and direct her to the bed as best he could while continually kissing her. Dean kicked the door closed with his foot, and then felt his T-shirt being pulled up. He raised his arms, allowing Melinda to take it off before attacking her mouth again.

He unfastened her bra quickly, stepping back to watch it fall to the floor. Now he had full access to those bouncing breasts. His mouth attacked her nipples, making her grab a handful of hair in pleasure. But she wanted more.

Dean wanted more, too.

He continued to lay kisses down her stomach as he quickly unfastened her jeans. They fell down her skinny legs instantly, so he could just pull her panties to one side and lick his tongue up the slit.

"Dean." Melinda growled, tilting her head back. She needed something to grab hold of while he did this. The pleasure was too much. It felt so much better than it did that first night; the night they were both completely drunk.

Dean stood, not letting Melinda have too much fun, so she could sit on the bed. She quickly kicked her shoes and jeans off, before unfastening Dean's jeans. She pulled them and his boxers down, letting little Dean pop out.

Dean couldn't help but moan as Melinda's hot mouth enveloped around him. He was in Heaven right now, and instantly grabbed a handful of her hair, rubbing her head as she licked and sucked every inch of him.

Before she got too far, he grabbed her head and looked into her eyes, "You have no idea what you do to me."

"I have a little idea." Melinda grinned and waited for Dean to get out of his clothes. She moved up the bed, getting out of her last item of clothing.

It didn't take long for Dean to join her on the bed, and slip straight into her. He kissed her and ran his hands all over her, as he pushed in and out; never slowing down. He was hitting all the right places, and had Melinda calling out in ecstasy just moments later.

Dean was still going. Pushing himself in and out, while her muscles tightened and loosened with the waves of pleasure. He was going to make himself hold out until at least the second, if not the third.

That was until Melinda decided she was taking control. She rolled them both over, and sat on top of Dean. She was gorgeous when riding him, and he couldn't help but touch every inch that he could. She rode him hard, tipping her head back now and then. He could see that she was enjoying every minute, and that worked for him even more.

He was getting close, but she had to come again. The best way to do that was to get his thumb and rub it in circles on her clit. Melinda moaned, making it clear that he had done just what she wanted right then. He smirked, and continued playing, feeling himself getting closer.

"Dean, I'm getting close again," Melinda told him, leaning forward but not changing the pace at all, "I'm gonna..."

"Come for me, baby," He said, thankful because he wasn't going to hold on much longer. He felt her tense around him, and that was it for him. He came inside her powerfully. Melinda's orgasm wasn't that far behind him.

After that, they laid together covered in sweat, panting heavily.

"So," Melinda started, still getting her breath back, "You want to stay here for a while just for the car?"

Dean laughed at her as she rolled off him. Not only did she have a libido and drinking habit to match his, but also a sense of humor.

* * *

><p><strong>And Dean is saved...!<strong>

**I admit that I do have a habit of writing unhappy endings, but I just couldn't do it for this couple. I started getting ideas for other stories in this universe and I just didn't want Dean going to Hell to come back. I wanted to do something different to the show and other fics that I've read. So this is it.**

**I hope you enjoyed the way that he was saved. The final chapter will come soon and is more of an epilogue to this. After all, Dean and Wyatt need a bit of a conversation about a certain female witch...**

**Please do leave a review to tell me what you think. :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello! Thank you again for your feedback on the last chapter.**

**As I promised, the last one is up before Christmas. I'm really glad to hear that you've enjoyed this story and I look forward to sharing the sequel with you after Christmas.**

**Have a great time however you choose to spend it. I'll be with family and friends :)**

Chapter 18

Dean and Wyatt sat outside in the back garden, watching the stars. They two had celebrated the birth of Wyatt's child. As Melinda had said, it was a girl, but she didn't have a name yet. Dean couldn't quite understand how they could spend nine months pretty much knowing they were going to have a girl—most Halliwell children were girls—and not yet have a name.

"So, it all changes from here, then?" Dean questioned his friend, glancing over to the deck chair Wyatt was sitting in.

"I guess it does," Wyatt nodded with a smile, "But in a good way. Now I just have to find a way to keep her safe. I don't know how my mom did it."

"You'll figure it out, Wyatt." Dean tried to help, but he didn't really know what to say. While he still remembered Piper, Wyatt never really talked about her when they would chat. It was more about a demon that had attacked or something big happening. And Dean realized that both of them had been keeping a lot from each other. Now Dean was keeping something else, and he didn't really want to.

"Hey, Wy," Dean started, "I wanted to come clean about that morning Pru found me walking home."

"She didn't find you walking home, did she?" Wyatt had a stern look on his face, and Dean wasn't sure whether there was anger in his brown eyes, "She found you with Mel."

"I'm sorry, man," Dean admitted his guilt, "I know how much your sister means to you and..."

"You know what, I'm over it," Wyatt laughed, "I was pissed at first. And I mean really pissed. She's my little sister and I know your lifestyle and how you are with girls. But then I started thinking. You did actually help. I'm not sure how, but you really helped her. Once you were taken, she cut back on drinking and focused on saving you. She really likes you."

"Really?" Dean frowned. While he liked hearing Wyatt accept his apology, he didn't really want Mel liking him in that way. He didn't want to get it to the point she loved him and vice versa. He wasn't good for her. With his demon hunting and terrible decisions, she was better finding someone else.

"Yes, really," Wyatt laughed, "I guess there's something poetic about two very broken souls meeting each other. But I guess you're leaving soon and then..."

Wyatt didn't have to finish his sentence. He glanced at Dean and nodded his head. He'd guessed so. He knew Dean's preferred lifestyle. The hunter liked being on the road, away from commitment. Wyatt wondered whether it was commitment phobia or whether it was fear of getting someone else involved in his lifestyle. It wasn't conventional. But then again, neither was the Halliwells' lifestyle. They were constantly fighting demons and saving innocents. Wyatt had never seen himself settling down with anyone until he met Bianca. The only reason they worked so well was because Bianca was magical, too. He believed that was the only reason Chris and Dana worked, as well. He was surprised that Hen had worked so well with his mortal wife.

"I told Mel that I'd stick around to help fix up the car," Dean admitted, "But maybe I should leave earlier."

"You can be happy, you know," Wyatt laughed at his friend, "And Mel's lifestyle isn't exactly normal. She can protect herself from the nasties that comes after you. They come after us, anyway. My mom used to always joke that there was an apocalypse or something every year."

"Are you trying to set me up with your sister, dude?"

"Sam said that when you're with her it's the happiest you've been in a long time. And I can see that in Mel's eyes when she's around you, too," Wyatt sighed. He'd spoken to Sam a couple of weeks ago, airing his suspicions that there had been something happening between Dean and Melinda. Sam had the same suspicions, but mainly because of how happy Dean actually seemed. Sure, the two were only around each other for around 24 hours, but it was like they understood each other, "Oh and Poppy said your face lit up when you talked about her. And I know my sister is nothing like any other girls, and not just because I'm her big brother."

Dean smiled and thought about it. No, Melinda definitely wasn't just another girl. She wasn't a one-night stand. But maybe she was a holiday romance, as they called it; not that he took many holidays.

"I know you won't stick around," Wyatt sighed, standing up from the lounger, "But maybe think about keeping in touch with her. Now, I'm going to bed. I gotta be back at the hospital in the morning."

With that, Dean was left in the back garden with his thoughts. Did he want something with Melinda? Even if it was one of those strange relationships where he called over every now and then? It would be like leaving for business for days at a time, and then having somewhere to come back to now and then. Could that be possible?

He'd thought about a life like that for a while. It was one that Bobby sort of had; although there was no woman for Bobby anymore. The aging hunter seemed to want something like that, though. Dean had actually come across a few hunters that had set down roots and then drove to hunts when they came up. Could Dean really become one of those types of hunters? Would Sam accept him becoming that type of hunter?

This was something he really needed to think about. The best way to do that would be to go for a drive, but he knew he'd had way too much to drink. He wasn't willing to let his baby end up in the same shape as Melinda's Mustang.

That's when he thought about it. He'd work on Mel's Mustang for now to clear his head.

And he did. He'd managed to get quite a bit of work done on it while he thought about his options. Mel would be impressed—or annoyed that he'd taken to fixing some of the stuff. He knew how he'd feel if it had have been her working on his car. Glancing at the work, he wondered whether he should take it apart.

Nah, she could get mad with him later. Maybe it would lead to angry sex.

Dean couldn't help laughing at himself for that. It all came back to sex, but she was good. He had to admit that the last few times had been the best for him. Even better than that bendy weekend with Lisa.

He sighed at the thought of Lisa. Before seeing Melinda again, whenever he pictured himself happy it was with Lisa. But now, Lisa was a thing of the past. When he pictured himself happy, he saw Melinda there; surrounded by family.

It was morning by the time Dean had finished thinking. He didn't realize, though. It was hearing footsteps in the garage that alerted him people were up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mel's voice called out. Dean looked up to see her glancing down at him through the engine, "Whoa! How long have you been up?"

"I haven't been to bed, actually," Dean admitted, rolling out from under the car. He stood up to look into her green eyes, "I had a lot to think about. Your brake line and suspension are fixed, though."

Melinda threw him a quizzical look, as she looked between him and her car.

"Coffee? Breakfast?"

"Both sound amazing, Mel." Dean admitted and followed her into the kitchen. He was about to learn just how much of an amazing cook she was. He remembered Piper's breakfasts, but he had to admit that Mel's breakfast was better. Was that even possible?

"You should try Chris' cooking if you think mine is good," Melinda said, as if she was reading his mind. He definitely didn't do well with his poker face at the moment, "There's a reason mom left him the restaurant and me the club."

"You were left the club?"

"Why do you think I was drinking the inventory?" Melinda giggled, "There's no way Wyatt would have let me if it was his. I just get people to help me run it, because I prefer my dad's garage. Wyatt was left the little cafe before you ask, not that he's there much with his own work."

Dean laughed, shaking his head. The girl was too good to be true for him. It was like him but in female form. She definitely wasn't just another girl. It was like she'd been made for him.

"Hey, I was thinking of setting off back on the road soon," Dean decided to bring it up, "I'll help you fix the car up but after that..."

"Take me with you?" Melinda blurted out, making Dean stop in his tracks. He looked at her with a shocked expression. She couldn't believe she'd just said that, and quickly back-tracked, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that..."

"Why would you even want to come with me?" Dean questioned, "My life isn't that great, Mel."

"It's better than mine," Mel shrugged her shoulders, "I walk around this house remembering my mom's death. I watched as a demon snapped her neck, you know?"

"What? You never told me that," Dean frowned, getting up from the table and moving to sit next to her. Now he realized the real reason for her drinking, "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I haven't told anyone, except Bobby. Don't know why but he's so easy to talk to," Melinda admitted, and Dean had to nod in agreement. He knew exactly how easy Bobby was to talk to about problems and secrets. He'd found himself admitting stuff to that man time and time again, "Wyatt, Chris and Dad think that I just found her body. But she pushed me out of the way to save me, and then a demon snapped her neck right in front of my eyes. Instead of coming after me, he...well, he just left. Left me to deal with this.

"I didn't get on well with my mom. Trust me, we argued all the time. She hated the fact that I wasn't a carbon copy of her. And I didn't stay that sweet, innocent little girl that I was back when you first met me. But she was still my mom. I didn't want her dead."

"I understand." Dean frowned, thinking about how Sam had been after their dad's death. Sam and John hadn't gotten along, but that didn't mean Sam ever wanted John to die.

"Her death just kinda topped it for me," Melinda sighed, continuing her chick-flick moment. Dean didn't mind listening to it all, "I don't know if anyone told you, but I was dating a guy for a while."

"Riley said." Dean nodded.

"Did he tell you the guy died?" When she saw Dean nod, she continued, "Well, did he tell you how?"

Dean shook his head. He'd never asked Riley for the full story, but it wasn't Riley's story to tell.

"Ben—the guy—was mortal. He had no idea about magic and the supernatural," Melinda admitted with a sigh, "I liked that. I could separate my crappy witch life and my normal life. Don't get me wrong, I love my powers and I like saving innocents but sometimes I just want to be a normal 22-year-old girl. Well, demons didn't want that. They killed Ben in front of me to weaken me. It worked. Two months later it was my mom."

"No wonder you started drinking. I don't think I'd have stopped now," Dean admitted and then looked down at her coffee, sniffing it. She just laughed as he put it down, happy that there wasn't any alcohol hidden in it, "So, now you want to escape to a very un-normal life? You'll never get your chance at normal with me, Mel."

"Normal obviously doesn't suit me," Melinda shook her head, "The one guy that I can connect with turns out to be a hunter."

Dean frowned at that. Was she about to confess her love for him or something?

"I just mean that on...well, you understand what I'm going through, right?" Melinda shrugged her shoulders, "I remember what you told me in the demon bar when we were there." He had gone into some detail to try and help Mel. He'd promised Leo to get her to talk and stop drinking so much, after all. To be honest, he was worried about her. Even at his worst, he hadn't acted the way that Melinda had. She was slowly destroying her liver.

"I shouldn't have asked," Melinda sighed, standing from the table and taking the plates to the sink. She then poured herself more coffee and hugged onto it, feeling the warmth through the cup, "Maybe we should work on the car, then."

"It's not that I don't want you with me," Dean admitted now, realizing that he owed Melinda an explanation for his objection to taking her, "I do really like you and you're right, we connected because we're both just as broken as each other. But my lifestyle...I wouldn't wish it on anyone. All that travelling, the loneliness? I wouldn't even wish it on my worst enemy. And it's not exactly safe."

"And you think living here is safe?" Melinda pointed out, "Even in my own apartment I get demons attacking me. They don't want us Halliwells to live. My mom and aunts really made some enemies."

Dean laughed to himself. She was right. It wasn't like she had a safe lifestyle, but she had family to help keep her safe.

"I'll tell you what, I'll do a deal with you."

Melinda raised her eyebrows at that sentence, and Dean couldn't help but wince.

"I think you've made enough deals to last a lifetime, Winchester," she pointed out, "But I'm open to negotiations."

"I stay here for a month or so. It'll take that long to get your Mustang up and running," Dean nodded, ignoring the dig at him for selling his soul, "If you still want to leave with me and Sammy after that, you can."

"And what about us while you're here?" Melinda now asked.

"We can just be friends," Dean shrugged his shoulders, "Or we can continue being whatever we are right now."

"Fuck buddies?" Melinda suggested, which Dean loved the sound of. The two of them agreed to the idea of Dean sticking around for now. They could see where it would take them in a month, and decide from there.

* * *

><p><strong>I've really enjoyed creating this universe, so I really hope you've enjoyed it all too. I'm really looking forward to sharing the sequel-and there will be more stories as I get the plot ideas for them.<br>**

**For now, I'd really love to hear what you do think. Please do leave a review when you get a chance. :)**

**Merry Christmas everyone!**


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